


some things just make sense (even after all this time)

by airplanewishes



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Best Friends, Drama, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-27 05:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8389552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airplanewishes/pseuds/airplanewishes
Summary: Park Chanyeol isn't Park Chanyeol without Byun Baekhyun. HP!au.





	

  **some things just make sense (even after all this time)**

 

 

It’s raining. At first contact, the raindrops, big and thick and heavy against the windowpane, slide down the glass, joining other drops and pooling at the edge of the windowsill. It’s quite a pretty sight, except for the fact that rain generally makes most people feel gloomy and even worse than how they actually feel. He has always really hated the rain. It was too wet, inconvenient and was just all around bothersome. He was always one to enjoy the sun shining, allowing him to run away and be free to do whatever he wanted with the day. The rain makes him stuck indoors and pouting. The only person who ever really made him remotely think that a rainy day is a good day was—

 

“Chanyeol, are you listening to me?”

 

Chanyeol blinks, peering at the male sitting across the table from under his bangs. He brushes the almost offending bangs away and manages a sheepish smile. It’s not that he wasn’t listening; his mind may have just wandered a little like it always did when he’s reminded of certain things.

 

“You still aren’t listening to me, aren’t you?”

 

Chanyeol graciously reaches out and pours Joonmyun another glass of wine. “I always listen to you,” he cheekily responds, “You’re my favorite person in the world.”

 

Joonmyun rolls his eyes, despite himself, and takes a sip of the wine. Placing the glass on the table, he repeats all the things he’s been saying and Chanyeol sits up straighter, making a point to actually listen this time. Joonmyun is actually his personal assistant, being the one of the new heads of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It’s been a full year of going through all the documents in the division and reading through current and future projects that he would take over. Joonmyun has taken it upon himself to be by Chanyeol’s side through all of this, appointing himself as his right hand man, although Chanyeol suspects it’s just because he thinks that Chanyeol really can’t handle it alone, aside from the fact that Chanyeol isn’t really used to being alone.

 

“Do you think I can take the rest of the afternoon off?” Chanyeol abruptly asks, looking out of the window again as Joonmyun blinks at him in surprise. Chanyeol has never asked for any kind of break ever since he decided that, yes, he’s going to obey his parents’ wishes and work for the Ministry. But today, he just feels like asking for one, and maybe do something he’s always done when rainy days like this come.

 

“Of course,” Joonmyun tells him without even bothering to look at Chanyeol’s schedule, which he knows like the back of his hand anyway. “Planning on doing anything special?” he carefully asks, knowing full well that pushing Chanyeol too much would result in him closing up more.

 

Chanyeol merely looks out the window and shrugs absently. There was a time that rainy days ended up more special to him that they should be. There was a time when the pitter-patter of the raindrops had become so much more than annoying sounds and more like music to his ears. He blows his bangs away from his eyes and looks away from the window.

 

“Is there anything else we need to discuss?” Chanyeol asks, but not impolitely.

 

Joonmyun shakes his head, smiling. He packs his things. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” he says, standing up. “You will call me tonight?”

 

Chanyeol nods with an eye roll, having called Joonmyun every night for the past two years. At the beginning it was something he had done because he was lonely, but after a while, it was something he did because Joonmyun was that kind of friend who could comfort him through anything.

 

He watches Joonmyun walk out of the restaurant and waits a couple of minutes before he heads out himself. The rain is cool on his skin. For a second, he stops in his tracks to absorb the chill before he apparates right outside a painfully familiar white-gray brick building.

 

Memories almost agonizingly shove themselves to his chest, but he chooses to ignore them and walks into the store, the bells ringing above the door. It still looks exactly like it did ten years ago. The door still creaks loudly when it closes, the doormat is still really dusty and kind of a yucky brown, and the paint on the counter is still peeling. He smiles a little at the ice cream sayings scribbled down on the wall above the menu. _Eat ice cream for daily happiness. There’s always room for ice cream. Stay cool with ice cream. Tomorrow we can eat broccoli, but today is for ice cream!_ They have the dumbest sayings and his eyes move down to the menu before something new catches his eye. _Ice cream is duct tape for the heart._ He reads it and rereads it before he shakes his head and looks away.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

Chanyeol’s heart thumps in his chest at the sight of a small male with glasses behind the counter, looking familiar. But when he blinks, it’s not really whom he was hoping he would be.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, clearing his throat. “Can I get a…” He looks at the display of ice cream, eyes lingering on a specific flavor more than the others.

 

“How about a Ginger Snap Ice Cream?” the male suggests with an enthusiastic cat-like smile. “Or how about the Optimistic Orange Blossom one? It’s been one of our best sellers for a while now. I’ll give you extra sprinkles.”

 

Chanyeol agrees with a half-shrug. He hasn’t had ice cream there in a really long time so might as well try something new. He places money on the counter and looks up. _Ice cream is duct tape for the heart._ There is nothing about ice cream that is remotely close to being able to bandage a broken heart. Sure, he’s always heard sayings that ice cream is kind of the same thing as happiness. Except it really isn’t. Chanyeol equates happiness to an entirely different thing and ice cream doesn’t even come close.

 

There aren’t many people in the store. So when he stands in the middle, deciding where to sit, he just looks silly because he can literally sit anywhere he wants to. But the table by the bay window is beckoning to him like it actually misses him. When he sinks down into one of the feathery seats, he actually sighs in relief and it almost feels like the couch sighs with him. There is a sense of familiarity, like coming home.

 

He absently looks out of the window as he feeds himself a teaspoonful of _Optimistic Orange Blossom_ and freezes before he stares at the seemingly offending cup of confection. It very eerily tastes something like he always ate back when bliss never seemed to end. Chanyeol glances at the counter, where the server was wiping the counter with excessive vigor than one would normally have when wiping things. The male looks up just as Chanyeol is about to look away and he smiles.

 

“How do you like your ice cream?”

 

Chanyeol shrugs. “It’s okay. I think I would have preferred something else better.”

 

“No one’s ever said they preferred something else over _Optimistic Orange Blossom_ before,” he says, eyes widening. “Everyone’s always said that they feel quite cheerful after having one and that they don’t regret getting that as their order.”

 

Chanyeol shrugs again. “I’m quite faithful to my ice cream flavor,” he explains. He points his spoon at the cup anyway. “How long has this been around? I always come here and I’ve never seen this flavor before.”

 

The server tilts his head sideways, looking confused. “I’ve never seen you around, though? I mean, I’ve only been working here for a year or so but I’m pretty sure I know every patron’s face.” He bites his lower lip. “I could be wrong…”

 

“Nah,” Chanyeol says, shaking his head. “I _used to_ come here all the time.”

 

“Okay then,” he responds with a nod and a smile. “If there’s anything else you need, I’ll be right behind the counter.”

 

“Thanks…” Chanyeol shifts somewhat uncomfortably.

 

“It’s Jongdae,” the server offers. “And you are…?”

 

“Chanyeol,” Chanyeol introduces himself with a stiff nod.

 

Jongdae frowns for a second before he’s smiling his wide cat-like smile once again. “It’s nice to meet you,” he seems to decide.

 

When Jongdae has walked away, Chanyeol takes another taste of his ice cream. It seems sweeter this time, somewhat lifting up his mood. Maybe Jongdae is actually right. He leans back on the couch and sighs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Park Chanyeol, _where_ do you think you’re going?”

 

“Ice cream!” Chanyeol screams with his high-pitched voice. “ _Ice cream!_ ” He runs through the crowd, weaving in between adults and managing to not step on anyone’s cloaks, and stops in front of a tall brick building, the words _Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream_ flashing down at him in swirly script. “I want ice cream!”

 

His mother stops right in front of him, panting because of all the effort that she took to chase her little boy down the street. “Chanyeol, you can’t just run away from me like that,” she sternly reprimands him and the young Chanyeol’s lips quiver. She sighs. “Okay, we will get ice cream,” she gives in and his eyes light up, “ _only_ if you promise never to run away from mommy like that ever again.”

 

Chanyeol eagerly nods. “I promise!”

 

The door of the ice cream shop tinkles, making Chanyeol clap with happiness, rushing to the ice cream display. It was too high for him, eyes barely seeing the ice cream, so he had to tiptoe to be able to see all the flavors. But 10-year old Chanyeol is so very small that he has a hard time standing on the tips of his toes to be able to get a glimpse.

 

Suddenly, there is a nudge on his foot. He stops tiptoeing, looks down and sees a footstool, and then his eyes slowly look up following small red rubber shoes, some pale skin, khaki shorts, a red shirt with Spiderman on it before finally settling on a round, rather cute face practically covered by large black eyeglasses.

 

The smaller boy, who’s a head shorter than Chanyeol, waves awkwardly shyly at him before pointing at the footstool. “It helps me see the ice cream,” he shares. “It’s my favorite thing in the world.” He scratches at his left ear, just under where his brown hair covers the tip. It somewhat jostles his glasses. It’s also possibly one of the cutest things Chanyeol’s ever seen another kid do.

 

“Your favorite thing is something you step on?” Chanyeol asks curiously, tilting his head slightly to the right.

 

“Well without it, I wouldn’t be able to see the ice cream!” the other boy defends himself with a frown. “If you don’t want it, I can just keep it to myself.” He bends down and moves to pick up the footstool before Chanyeol stops him.

 

“Do you want to look at the ice cream with me?” Chanyeol asks, deciding that nothing is going to stop him from looking at the ice cream. That, and seeing this other boy frown at him like he’s truly offended him.

 

The other boy smiles so brightly that Chanyeol blinks. He didn’t think anyone could smile as happily as he himself did because his older sister always told him that he was weird for smiling such a big smile all the time. But this boy, Chanyeol thinks he’s got the biggest and brightest and prettiest smile he’s seen. He then decides right then and there that he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep that smile that way.

 

They place the footstool at the edge of the ice cream display case before Chanyeol is hopping on it, gesturing to the other boy to come up after him. He crinkles his nose, scratching on it, which is another one of those cutest things, as he grabs Chanyeol’s hand as support. Now they can see the ice cream without any difficulty! Their feet sit side by side on the small wooden box, their faces pressed against the glass case of what can only be ice cream heaven.

 

“That’s my favorite!” the other boy squeals, his breath fogging the glass up, as he points to kind of weird but interesting sparkly blue green tub of frozen delicacy. “It’s the _Pistachio Bubble Gum Enchantment_ ,” he reverently says, small hand pushing on the glass as if he’s trying to reach towards it. “It’s really really _really_ the best.” He hurriedly turns to look at Chanyeol, glasses slightly going askew. “You _have to_ get your mom to buy it for you.”

 

“Baekhyun, not _again_.” A man carries the other boy off the wooden footstool before carrying Chanyeol down as well. “What did I say about pressing your face on the glass?”

 

“It creates nose marks and hurts my nose in the process,” the boy, now called Baekhyun, mumbles, playing with his fingers, nose scrunched. He then looks up, eyes imploring and utterly adorable that Chanyeol wants to squish his face in between his hands. “I won’t do it again, uncle, I promise!”

 

The man gently pokes Baekhyun’s nose and laughs. “I know you won’t,” he says even though he doesn’t look like he believes him. He then turns to Chanyeol with a wide smile. “Well then, what can I get for you, young man?”

 

Chanyeol blinks then merely points at Baekhyun. “The…” He scrunches his face, trying to remember the name of his favorite ice cream before practically yelling, “Bubble Gum Pie!”

 

Baekhyun giggles, covering his mouth with his small hand, eyes turning into half moons behind his thick lenses. He leans forward, whispering conspiratorially, “It’s _Pistachio Bubble Gum Enchantment_.” He then points behind the counter towards the ice cream man. “Tell him,” he adds in another whisper.

 

Chanyeol stands on his toes again and places his arms on the counter, where his mom is looking through the menu above. “Excuse me, mister, I would like the…” He glances at Baekhyun, who mouths the flavor name at him before waving him off. “… _Pistachio Bubble Gum Enchantment_.” His mother looks down at him and quirks an eyebrow. “Please,” he adds with a proper smile.

 

Chanyeol practically skips to one of the booths when he gets his cup of gloriousness. His mom watches him fondly from the counter as she chats with the man from earlier, who is actually Florean Fortescue. He notices the kid from earlier, shyly watching from beside the ice cream display and his footstool. Chanyeol excitedly beckons him over because the one more thing that’s more fun that eating ice cream is sharing it with someone else.

 

“Hi,” Baekhyun timidly says, clambering up on the booth to sit beside him.

 

Chanyeol quietly pushes the cup of ice cream towards him and offers him the spoon. But Baekhyun shakes his head.

 

“You shouldn’t share your ice cream with strangers,” he solemnly but surely states. “Especially if it’s really good ice cream.”

 

“I’m Chanyeol,” Chanyeol stoutly introduces himself with a big smile. “Park Chanyeol.”

 

“Byun Baekhyun,” Baekhyun says, blinking rapidly. Slowly, a smile forms on his face. “Now we’re not strangers.”

 

“That’s right,” Chanyeol agrees and proceeds to scoop a big chunk of ice cream before offering it to Baekhyun. “We’re friends now.”

 

“ _Best_ friends,” Baekhyun corrects haughtily. He gives him a determined look. “I would never point out my favorite ice cream and then share it with just anyone, you know.”

 

Chanyeol almost wants to argue that the ice cream is actually his because his mom paid for it, but he thinks that Baekhyun being his best friend is really cool so he shuts his mouth. He and Baekhyun are going to be best friends forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Joonmyun asks for what Chanyeol feels is the hundredth time in the past week.

 

Chanyeol looks up from the documents he’s been perusing—or trying to—for the past hour, managing not to sigh at the question. “Yes,” he firmly states. Joonmyun raises an eyebrow. “I just keep… rereading this one sentence over and over again.” He makes a face and slumps over his desk.

 

Joonmyun doesn’t say anything for a minute or two, clearly debating whether to say what was on his mind. He watches Chanyeol with pursed lips, wondering if the question he’s decided he’s going to ask will do more harm than good.

 

“Chanyeol,” Joonmyun finally speaks up and, immediately, Chanyeol already knows what’s coming next. “How are you coping?”

 

Chanyeol pushes himself off the desk and leans back on his leather office chair. He knows Joonmyun means well, knows that Joonmyun is really concerned and that he wants Chanyeol to be doing okay. But Chanyeol also knows that if Joonmyun has resorted to asking this question, it just means that he hasn’t been hiding his emotions as well as he thought.

 

“As well as one can cope,” Chanyeol says, brushing his hair away from his eyes, staring at the oak door that is the entrance of his office. It was due to his mother’s insistence that he redecorate the office he was occupying to something supposedly more befitting his station, and his family name. Now his office is all oak wood and dark green colors, very old money wizarding family. He sighs when Joonmyun frowns. “You don’t have to worry about me,” he assures him. “I’m perfectly fine.”

 

“Do you… are you still looking, still trying to contact him?” Joonmyun courageously asks.

 

Chanyeol smiles a little as he half shrugs. “It’s clear he wants nothing to do with me so why should I bother?”

 

“You’re his best friend,” Joonmyun reminds him gently. “You’ve been his best friend for eight years—“

 

“Seven,” Chanyeol corrects him bitterly. “We _were_ best friends for seven years.” He then frowns heavily. He remembers promising that they would be best friends for far longer than that, but he supposes some things just aren’t meant to last forever. Even if he once truly believed he and Baekhyun would.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol leans on his left foot then his right foot, repeating the process over and over again. After a while, he gets tired and proceeds to burn a hole through the marble floor of the library. They’d managed to secure one of the tables behind the bookshelves in the back again because Joonmyun has a habit of reading things aloud and because Jongin likes his beauty sleep. That, and because Chanyeol tends to walk around, like he is currently doing, when he is anxious about an upcoming test.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun barks without looking at him, grabbing the sleeve of his robes and tugging him to the empty seat beside him, “stop it. You’re making me dizzy.” He carries on with his note taking, not even bothering to spare his best friend in distress a glance.

 

Chanyeol pouts, trying to keep still, Baekhyun’s slender fingers still entangled with his sleeve. He knows he’s been a pain, having practically bitten Baekhyun’s ear off with his whining. But he is just so nervous about the upcoming N.E.W.T.s because, even though he is that kind of student who gets away with studying minimally, he’s not sure he can get away with it this time. He whimpers and buries his face in Baekhyun’s arm, which ends up with him burying his face in Baekhyun’s armpit when Baekhyun shifts in his seat.

 

However, Chanyeol doesn’t move. He finds that Baekhyun’s armpit, while not the nicest smelling in the world, is warm and cozy and just so Baekhyun. He mushes his face into it further and seeks some form of comfort that he only gets from his best friend. Baekhyun’s hand lets go of his sleeves and moves to his head, where he runs it through his hair.

 

“I need to get Exceeds Expectations in _all_ my N.E.W.T.s,” Chanyeol whines, voice muffled. “ _Exceeds Expectations_. Who the heck gets Exceeds Expectations in everything?”

 

Joonmyun and Yifan look up at the same time, and Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at this, making Joonmyun blush. Yifan just stares at Chanyeol and Baekhyun for a bit before he goes back to his reading. He accidentally jostles Jongin when he turns a page, but Jongin just sleeps through it. Joonmyun, fighting with his blush, opens his mouth to say something to Chanyeol, except Baekhyun beats him to it.

 

“You will,” Baekhyun calmly states, still focused on his schoolwork. “You haven’t been studying for nothing.”

 

Chanyeol decides not to answer because he has been studying like mad and is incredibly tired about thinking and worrying about the upcoming exams. Instead, he sighs contentedly, practically purring, when Baekhyun continues running his fingers through his hair. Baekhyun’s fingertips massage his scalp first before pushing his hands, strands of his hair being tugged. He does this repeatedly until such time that Chanyeol is almost falling asleep.

 

“You _could_ study,” Kyungsoo pipes in, looking up from his Auror applications, “since you’re so worried.” He opens his mouth to say some more, but Baekhyun’s gaze snaps towards him and he shuts up instead. “Just saying,” he mutters with an eye roll, returning his attention back to his documents.

 

Chanyeol lifts his face and nuzzles it in Baekhyun’s neck, eyes closed. There is just something heartwarming about having a person who knows you like the back of his hand, who knows what you’ll feel or how you’ll react even, sometimes even better than you do. Baekhyun knows exactly how Chanyeol feels when he gets even the tiniest bit reprimanded about his work. His parents already give him so much flack about his schooling that Baekhyun knows Chanyeol would rather not get it from anyone else.

 

“Here,” Baekhyun suddenly says, nudging Chanyeol’s head off his shoulder.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes flutter open, slightly disoriented. “What?” he asks, deciding to rest his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Straightening up in his seat would be too much work.

 

“I wrote you an outline for your Potions essay for the final requirements,” Baekhyun studiously states, pushing his glasses up his nose. Chanyeol blinks in surprise. “It’s not going to be the exact content that you’ll be asked, but I’m pretty sure final exams usually have the entirety of Potions as a subject so…” He places two sheets of paper in front of Chanyeol and, sure enough, Baekhyun has written, very neatly and in great detail, a bulleted summary for Chanyeol’s final paper.

 

Joonmyun’s mouth slightly hangs open, while Kyungsoo merely shakes his head and Yifan ignores all of them, as Chanyeol inspects what Baekhyun did. Jongin continues to sleep.

 

Baekhyun always does thing like this. He’s always doing things for Chanyeol even if he never asks; he never asks, but Baekhyun does them willingly with the sole reason of Chanyeol being his best friend. It’s a constant question between their friends and Chanyeol asks, too, but Baekhyun merely smiles or rolls his eyes and no one has a choice but to accept it.

 

“I don’t think I can survive without you,” Chanyeol remarks, wrapping his arms around Baekhyun.

 

“Lucky you then,” Baekhyun simply states, cheeks pinking with delight.

 

“Lucky me,” Chanyeol repeats with a grin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol feels restless. He knows exactly why, but he doesn’t want to accept that reason. This is the second time this is happening and he should know better by know how to handle it. Besides, birthdays aren’t supposed to be cause of anxiety. They’re supposed to be happy and exciting and fun. Except maybe when the one celebrating it is nowhere to be found.

 

He watches as Kyungsoo discusses what he remembers is their ninth case for the morning, his fingers tight on the dark green binding, eyes trained on the words, while Joonmyun is rapt with attention, his quill flying back and forth as he studiously takes notes, parchment placed over his crossed legs. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun have been his friends for a long time. Despite Kyungsoo and Joonmyun being both Ravenclaws back in the day, they had always hung out, together with Yifan and Jongin, who were from other houses as well. Whenever Chanyeol sees them at work, which is everyday, he always wonders if they thought about how their lives would have panned out, if what’s happening now is what they foresaw would happen.

 

Chanyeol hunches forward on his desk and buries his head in his arms. He hates thinking about this. He hates thinking about him. Kyungsoo purses his lips as he exchanges a look with Joonmyun. They both stay quiet for a bit and Chanyeol just knows that they know what’s happening here.

 

“Everything okay?” Joonmyun asks Chanyeol as he nods at Kyungsoo to gather all the files. When Chanyeol doesn’t respond, Joonmyun sighs. “Chanyeol, you know you have to have read all these cases by Monday. You can’t afford to… be thinking of other things at the moment.”

 

“We all know why he’s being like this,” Kyungsoo comments, turning to exit Chanyeol’s office, arms wrapped around the thick folders of the cases. “It’s—“ He suddenly bursts into a startling coughing spree, causing Chanyeol to look at him in concern.

 

“Are you alright?” Chanyeol asks, pushing a glass of water towards him.

 

“Fine,” Kyungsoo answers once he’s able to speak. “I just—“

 

“Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun warns him. He shakes his head, but Kyungsoo won’t relent.

 

“I think you should tell him,” Kyungsoo continues stubbornly, despite feeling coughs threatening to overtake his speech again. “It’s about time someone does.” He then swiftly exits out of the room, coughing rather violently, before Joonmyun can say anything more.

 

Chanyeol lifts his head, curious about the conversation that just happened. “What’s Kyungsoo talking about? What should you tell me?” he almost demands.

 

Joonmyun smiles uncomfortably before shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he tries to cover up, the beginnings of a cough marring his speech, hoping that Chanyeol wouldn’t push it. He deflates in relief when Chanyeol doesn’t. At the same time, it makes him sad that Chanyeol doesn’t ask. Joonmyun thinks he’s gotten tired of hoping just to be let down again.

 

Then again, it’s not like they can actually tell Chanyeol anything if he does ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun doesn’t drink. He’s not one to turn to alcohol and partying for a celebration, being more of a coffee, cake and ice cream kind of guy. He’d rather choose to hang out at his uncle’s ice cream shop and read a book than go out dancing like most of his friends liked to do. But strangely enough, Baekhyun drank more than he normally would and got himself drunk during the celebration that happened after they received their N.E.W.T. exam results.

 

Chanyeol gets up form his perch on one of the barstools, very glad that he’d decided to forgo his parents’ invitation for dinner, and pushes his way to the crowd of dancing to where Baekhyun was cuddling with some Slytherin. He plops down really hard beside the guy cuddling his friend, staring daggers at him.

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol greets abruptly, eyes moving to Baekhyun and his arm that’s wrapped around the stupid Slytherin before moving up to start a staring contest.

 

“Let me guess,” the Slytherin drawls. “Chanyeol, right?” Chanyeol blinks in surprise and he chuckles. “I’m Sehun. Baekhyun was in my Ancient Runes class.”

 

Chanyeol frowns, sure that Baekhyun’s only taken Ancient Runes in their third year. “And what, you stayed friends?” he questions, somewhat possessively. He knows all of Baekhyun’s friends because they have the same friends. Baekhyun’s never mentioned Sehun. In fact, he’s never mentioned that he has a friend who is a Slytherin.

 

“We talk once in a while,” Sehun shares. He nudges Baekhyun lightly and Baekhyun whimpers like a puppy and clutches his arm tighter. “He’s pretty knocked out,” he tells Chanyeol. “You should take him back to your dorm.”

 

Sehun then gets up, not even caring that Baekhyun falls on his face on the couch and leaves Chanyeol to take care of him. Chanyeol frowns at the Slytherin and proceeds to lift Baekhyun and wrap his arms around him. Baekhyun doesn’t wake. Instead, he kind of whines and presses his cheek harder to Chanyeol’s shoulder. Chanyeol rarely ever gets the chance to really look at Baekhyun because his best friend is always paying too much attention to what he does and if he looks at Baekhyun he knows he’ll be called out on it.

 

Sighing, he shakes his best friend, careful not to jostle him too much. “Hey, Baek,” he gently whispers. “Baek, we need to go back to Hogwarts.” Baekhyun’s eyes flutter.

 

Baekhyun just flings an arm around Chanyeol’s waist and nuzzles his face impossible closer to his neck. “Hogwarts is baaaad,” he wails.

 

“What—“ Chanyeol starts.

 

“Hogwarts is bad,” Baekhyun repeats, slurring and eyes finally opening, unfocused. “Bad people. There are bad people.”

 

Baekhyun continues to mumble and Chanyeol barely catches words like _take away_ , _me_ , _best friend, no_ before he decides to just carry Baekhyun over his shoulder. There hasn’t been a day that Baekhyun hasn’t taken care of Chanyeol, even in the smallest of things. There was a time when Chanyeol had fallen into the lake. Kyungsoo had said that he’d seen the giant squid, the one that Chanyeol had always thought was just something the professors said to scare the kids out of the lake, and he’d gone to see it for himself. There was a swishing sound and he thought he saw something big swimming underneath before he fell in.

 

Everyone made fun of him for being dumb enough to believe that there really was such a thing. Except for Baekhyun. Baekhyun had helped him out of the lake, brought him to the hospital wing and patiently listened to him as he recounted his almost-sighting. His best friend didn’t even look bored, like he was just indulging him. Baekhyun looked interested and even suggested that they go for another search when he feels better. Baekhyun is that kind of person.

 

Chanyeol deposits Baekhyun carefully in his bed, gently taking off his robes and shoes so he can sleep more comfortably. When he’s finally pulling the blanket over him, Baekhyun opens his eyes sleepily and moves to one side of the bed as if to say _hop in_. And Chanyeol does.

 

That night, Baekhyun had clung to him tighter than he’s ever had before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_Ice cream is duct tape for the heart_. It’s Chanyeol’s twenty-first time back at Florean Fortescue’s, the twenty-first time he’s reading that particular ice cream saying, and yet it still bothers him. He glares at it defiantly, as if willing it to defend itself, when he hears a chuckle behind the counter. Chanyeol looks up and sees Jongdae, smiling at him, pushing his glasses up his nose.

 

“You must really hate that particular quote,” Jongdae tells him, another chuckle leaving his lips. “You’re always frowning at it when you come by.”

 

“Yes, well, ice cream doesn’t seem to be doing anything for my heart,” Chanyeol hastily explains, gesturing at the board where it’s written, “and I’ve been coming back several times, testing the theory.” He shakes his head knowingly. “Nothing.”

 

Jongdae looks a bit taken aback at the sudden revelation but a smile immediately flits back to his face, obviously not one to pry. “Well, it doesn’t hurt to keep trying, right?” he gently suggests. “Hang on.” He holds up a finger and disappears to the back.

 

He figures Jongdae’s going to offer him another one of their new flavors. Every time Chanyeol’s been back to the ice cream shop, there’s always a new flavor that Jongdae is offering to him. There was that _Extremely Sizzling Hot and Spicy_ ice cream that Chanyeol almost immediately spit out at first try (he had to drink a lot of water); there was _Avant-garde Avocado_ that was quite tasty, as well as _A Beacon of Bacon Hope_ , which obviously was bacon flavored and left a particularly bitter taste in Chanyeol’s mouth. There were others, but sometimes Chanyeol refused and went back to _Optimistic Orange Blossom_ , which somehow, does make him feel a little bit better.

 

Jongdae comes back out shortly carrying a cup of what clearly is grayish-black ice cream. Chanyeol blinks at it as it’s placed on the counter before he’s looking back up at Jongdae questioningly. Jongdae smiles proudly, like he’s the one who concocted it himself.

 

“The _Dark Knight In Shining Armor_ Ice Cream,” Jongdae presents, complete with wiggling spirit fingers. Chanyeol raises his eyebrows. “I helped name it!” he adds pompously.

 

“Really?” Chanyeol smiles in hilarity. “ _The Dark Knight In Shining Armor_?”

 

“You see,” Jongdae clears his throat in preparation of the explanation Chanyeol knows is coming. So Chanyeol leans against the counter. “This ice cream has been in the making for a while now with the goal of hoping to make the person who eats it get the feeling of being swept off their feet and falling in love.”

 

“Do I have to avoid anyone’s eyes afterwards?” Chanyeol smirks. “In case, you know, this actually has a love potion of making me fall in love with the first person I see after I take a spoonful.”

 

Jongdae laughs but shakes his head. “No,” he promises. “But you it would affect you more if you have fallen in love before or if you are currently in love.” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down. “So, fair warning.”

 

Chanyeol scoffs as he takes the cup of ice cream to go to his usual seat by the bay window. He sighs when he sinks into the comfort of the seat. The ice cream sits on the table and Chanyeol eyes it warily. Jongdae’s explanations on their ice cream concoctions have never strayed far from the truth. More often than not, it’s always right on point, and Chanyeol’s not sure he wants to _feel_ this exactness this time around.

 

He is curious though at how this _falling in love_ tastes like and how it would translate to making a person experience it. Because falling in love isn’t a pleasant experience for everyone. Not all the time. In fact, Chanyeol thinks that it’s a mostly painful occurrence until it stops being unrequited.

 

And Chanyeol’s been living with unrequited love with quite some time now.

 

“You look like you need help with that.”

 

Chanyeol looks up from staring at the ice cream to a tall, willowy male with really light blonde hair. He would think that he’s seeing a reincarnation of Draco Malfoy, except he knows Draco Malfoy is _old_ and because he knows who this is.

 

A smirk makes its way to the new arrival’s face as he sits down across Chanyeol. He nods towards the ice cream again. “Afraid?” he bluntly asks.

 

“I—“ Chanyeol glances at the counter, where Jongdae is watching them with wide eyes. “Sehun—what are you doing here?” he blurts out.

 

Sehun just laughs and crosses a leg over the other, lazing comfortable on the couch. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he observes. He looks down at his dark green robes and dusts off some imaginary lint. Chanyeol thinks he’s just showing off his new robes, which probably came from some exclusive expensive tailor.

 

“I… haven’t seen you since…” Chanyeol trails off, deciding not to finish that sentence. He looks down and frowns at his ice cream. As much as he wants to, he can’t forget the last time that he saw Sehun.

 

Sehun nods slightly in verification that he knows what Chanyeol’s talking about. “I am actually very much surprised that we haven’t run into each other before this,” he says rather thoughtfully. “I am often at the ministry.” Chanyeol blinks at him. “You do work at the ministry, right?”

 

“Yes, but…” Chanyeol’s brows continue to furrow. “What do you do?”

 

“I help out in the Department of Magical Games and Sports every so often,” Sehun shares nonchalantly, although Chanyeol sees his cheeks color a bit. His eyes lift from where he’s studying the pattern on his robes and meets Chanyeol’s. “How often have you been coming here?”

 

“Two months?” Chanyeol answers haltingly, not entirely sure why that is something Sehun should know.

 

“In total?” Sehun presses and Chanyeol freezes.

 

The totality of Chanyeol’s obsession with Florean Fortescue’s cannot be counted into days or months. It isn’t something that one can just give a number to because it’s Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream shop isn’t _just_ a shop to him. It is a beginning and a middle of a _something_ that Chanyeol has really yet to figure out, something that he doesn’t want to have an end to yet. Right now, it’s a reminder of many things that are painful to remember but he can’t quite forget. It’s also a form of anticipation of _maybes_ and _somedays_.

 

“Never mind,” Sehun decides. He gets up from his seat and slides a beige envelope towards Chanyeol. _Park Chanyeol_ is written at the back in neat cursive handwriting and he immediately knows it’s something official. “See you,” is all Sehun says before he sashays out of the shop, winking at Jongdae.

 

Chanyeol sits there for a moment, wondering what just happened. It’s not everyday that his past comes to haunt him, in the flesh. He flips the envelope over and is startled to find the dark red Hogwarts seal stamped on it. His fingertips graze the seal, jolts of longing and apprehension coursing through him. He’s never been back to Hogwarts since he graduated. That is a stage of Chanyeol’s life he’s always thought he’s put a period on. Maybe it’s not over yet.

 

“Everything okay?” Jongdae comes up to him, an uncertain lilt to his tone. His eyes flit to the untouched ice cream. Chanyeol follows his gaze.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol answers. He may be shaken from Sehun’s sudden reappearance in his life, but he’s okay. It feels like this is a sign of something to come but he’s just not sure what. “I think… I’ll pass on this one?” he then tells him sheepishly, a decision in his mind. Feeling unrequited love isn’t something he wants to feel through eating ice cream, when it’s _supposedly_ duct tape to the heart.

 

“Of course,” Jongdae responds, bowing a little in apology. “I shouldn’t have insisted on it despite you mentioning your qualms about such things.” He gestures vaguely as he refers to _love_. He hesitates for a bit before speaking again. “I hope this doesn’t deter you from coming back.”

 

Chanyeol laughs and shakes his head. “Don’t worry,” he assures him. Now that he’s been coming back to the ice cream store after half a year of avoiding it, he can’t stop himself from coming back. “Wouldn’t want to miss your newest offerings,” he teases as Jongdae coughs self-consciously. “Which reminds me, you never offer other people all the things you’ve been making me taste.” He gives a curious look to Jongdae.

 

“Well,” Jongdae tries to explain. “You just seem like the type of customer who appreciates variety.” There’s a lose thread on his shirt that he picks as he averts his gaze. “You’ve never complained before.”

 

“And I’m not complaining now,” Chanyeol corrects that line of thought at once. “I’m just saying… it’s like…” He frowns a bit, biting his lower lip as he thinks hard. To be honest, the whole thing just flat out reminds him of Baekhyun. They used to come here every other summer break to try to create and taste new ice cream flavors. He keeps thinking its coincidence since he is at Baekhyun’s uncle’s shop. “How long has uncle—“ He coughs. “How long as Mr. Fortescue stopped coming to man the place?”

 

Jongdae raises an eyebrow at the slip but doesn’t pursue it. “Not for a couple of years as I’ve heard,” he explains. “He’s handed over management to his nephew.”

 

Chanyeol manages to smile. Baekhyun isn’t Florean’s one and only nephew so it would be pointless to ask. Besides, he has been here and has asked about Baekhyun, constantly, for several months after their Hogwarts graduation, but no one seems to have heard of him. It’s truly bittersweet, his relationship with this ice cream shop. It really would be useless to ask again.

 

“I’ll be back again,” Chanyeol tells him, getting up and heading for the door.

 

Jongdae merely frowns at his retreating back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first time Chanyeol had ever been to a muggle grocery story, it had amazed Chanyeol how still everything was. Magical stores always tended to have something moving, something flashing or something exploding. There is always something curious in a wizarding store, no matter what kind they may be. But being in a muggle store, where everything seems so tranquil, interested Chanyeol even more. He remembers touching everything, poking, almost willing milk cartons to wiggle and shake to no avail. Baekhyun had kept on laughing at him as he picked out ingredients for when he said he’d cook for Chanyeol.

 

“The muggle world is less complicated sometimes,” Baekhyun tries to explain as he amusedly watches Chanyeol squint at a still photograph in a ramen advertisement. “Things are just what they are; what you see is what you get.”

 

“But…” Chanyeol wrinkles his nose. “Things feel so incomplete without all the… magic.”

 

Baekhyun chuckles and shakes his head, putting in a bag of carrots in the cart. “Well, in the muggle world, we don’t have that and so you never know that’s what you’re missing,” he explains. “Sometimes I feel like having magic into my life just…” He trails off and chuckles again. “Do you think if there was no magic things would be easier?”

 

“Nothing is ever easy,” was Chanyeol’s immediate reply.

 

“What if…” Baekhyun worries his lower lip in between his teeth. “Do you think if we were both just muggles, simple people, that we would still find each other?”

 

Chanyeol just laughs and wraps an arm around Baekhyun’s neck, half hugging, half choking him. He continues on to say that there must be something in the muggle air that is making Byun Baekhyun this cheesy and may they have some more of it. Baekhyun makes a face, pushes him off and rams the pushcart to his back.

 

Now Chanyeol kind of wishes he had answered Baekhyun’s question.

 

“You okay?”

 

Chanyeol looks up from his plate and at Jongin, who is watching him concernedly. It had been decided that original seating arrangements for the Hogwarts alumni dinner be discarded for a more relaxed one. Hence, now, he’s sitting with Jongin and Yifan, as well as Joonmyun and Kyungsoo, who were both very surprised to see him when he’d arrived. They’d never talked about the dinner at work, his two friends probably expecting that he wouldn’t want to come.

 

“You’ve been staring at your plate for the past five minutes,” Jongin continues, taking a sip of his cherry syrup, as opposed to the others practically inhaling Firewhiskey and Turnip Wine. Alcoholic drinks make him sleepy.

 

“Fine,” Chanyeol answers with a soft smile. He avoids Joonmyun’s and Kyungsoo’s knowing looks, content at just talking to Jongin because Jongin is one of his less judgmental friends. Even Yifan is sending him apprehensive looks that he’d really rather not deal with at the moment. “Just not very hungry,” he adds as he looks back down on his plate. It’s gold with things that keep swirling at the edges. It’s a very effective distraction.

 

Chanyeol isn’t sure what he expected, but it really shouldn’t have surprised him that Baekhyun isn’t at the dinner. No one has seen or heard from Baekhyun, just like Chanyeol and the rest of their friends. Chanyeol supposes that, somehow, he still hoped that Baekhyun would be there and they could maybe talk. He sighs and leans back on his seat, looking up at the ceiling.

 

The Hogwarts Great Hall is, as to be expected, adorned with hundreds of floating candles, illuminating the otherwise, dark and cloudy ceiling reflecting the current night sky. Nothing much has really changed. All being back in Hogwarts does is remind of Chanyeol of unforgettable memories and missed chances.

 

Hogwarts remains to be Chanyeol’s favorite thing that has happened in his life, considering it has been his life for the past seven years. This is the place he grew up in, the place where he learned all about magic and people and life, the place where he met the people he knows he can trust, the place where he realized that Baekhyun is not just his best friend but someone he wants to be with forever, how ever long that may be.

 

It was a slow process. Chanyeol had been friends with Baekhyun for two years when he’d started noticing more than he should have. It wasn’t just that he noticed the crinkles in the corners of Baekhyun’s eyes or the way one side of his lips would lift higher when he smiles, or how his laugh seems to be something that Chanyeol can listen to continuously. It was also how Chanyeol yearned for Baekhyun’s touch more than anyone else’s, how his side felt empty when Baekhyun wasn’t around, how things just seemed bland when he was by himself. It was also in the way that he turned to Baekhyun for everything. He thought that was normal since Baekhyun was his best friend, but Kyungsoo and Joonmyun are best friends and it was never like that for them. Yifan and Jongin are closer to each other than with anyone else but it just wasn’t the same. If he could have, he would have held Baekhyun’s hand all the time. And he could have because Baekhyun wouldn’t have minded. Except Chanyeol wanted it to mean something, for the both of them.

 

“I’d be the easiest person to find,” Baekhyun goes on when they’d reached the checkout counters in the supermarket. Chanyeol looks up at him curiously from where he’d been trying to open a packet of candy. “I’m the homiest person I know,” Baekhyun continues. “And the most domestic, which some people think is equivalent to boring. But…” He pauses for a bit and smiles. “You would know where to find me, right, Chanyeol?”

 

Chanyeol closes his eyes and leans back on his seat as he thinks back on the memory. He doesn’t remember what he’d answered, doesn’t remember if he had said yes or if he had laughed it off. But he knows now that _yes_ is the answer. He would know where to find Baekhyun. He would—Chanyeol suddenly straightens up in his seat, startling everyone on the table.

 

“What is it?” Jongin demands, not really a fan of being startled. Chanyeol remembers Jongin being startled by the party poppers during Kyungsoo’s birthday. He’d nearly kicked Joonmyun in the face.

 

“Just…” Chanyeol pauses to swallow and take a deep breath. “I think I’ve been looking in all the wrong places.”

 

“For what?” Yifan asks.

 

“For Baekhyun,” Chanyeol tells them, a bit breathless. He isn’t sure why he’s never come to this conclusion before. It’s been right in his brain the entire time. Baekhyun had given him the answer so long ago, as if… Chanyeol frowns. As if Baekhyun had known this would happen all along.

 

“Chanyeol?” Joonmyun carefully prods.

 

“Has Baekhyun ever talked to you guys about us? About me and him, I mean,” Chanyeol wonders, looking at his friends. “Has he?”

 

Kyungsoo and Joonmyun exchange a look, while Yifan clears his throat. Jongin, however, looks determined. He leans with his forearms on the table and opens his mouth along with a spew of words that Chanyeol barely understands before he’s overtaken with coughs. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and pushes a glass of water towards him.

 

“You think no one hasn’t tried that?” Kyungsoo mutters in a bored tone. He fixes Chanyeol a gaze. “We can’t help you with this. You are the only one who can possibly know where Baekhyun is. Even if we could actually help you and we so badly want to,” he adds when Chanyeol opens his mouth with some sort of retort, “we can’t. We aren’t allowed to.” He gives him an apologetic shrug, which is the most apologetic Kyungsoo’s been to him the entire time they’ve been friends.

 

Chanyeol opens his mouth to express his confusion but closes it again. Kyungsoo is very straightforward and if he says that they aren’t allowed to, it just means that Baekhyun’s somehow found a way to make them not tell Chanyeol anything. Which just basically proves that Baekhyun doesn’t want to be found.

 

“Look, Chanyeol,” Joonmyun starts, taking a deep breath. “You know Baekhyun better than anyone.”

 

“He doesn’t want to be found,” Chanyeol interrupts him. “If he didn’t want you guys to tell me anything, it just means he doesn’t want me to find him.”

 

“Or,” Kyungsoo sharply retorts, “he’s just making sure that you want to find him so badly that you would actually figure it out yourself.”

 

Chanyeol thinks back to his earlier idea, his eyes meeting Kyungsoo’s. What if, this time, he really has figured it out?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol takes a deep breath as he stands in front of a house he hasn’t set foot in in years. He’s surprised he still remembers how to go there, surprised that he actually knows it like the back of his hand. The white picket fence is dusty, almost gray, and there are a few broken parts where two small children can easily slip into. The garden seems to be well tended to, though, and it gives Chanyeol a surge of hope that, maybe, he’s right. Maybe he’s finally found Baekhyun and will finally see him again.

 

He pushes the small gate open and slowly walks down the short, winding path to the dark red door. Once upon a time, there had been two young boys constantly running on this path, pushing each other jovially, sometimes accidentally scraping knees and elbows. There had been a time when they felt they were too grown up for running that they’d resorted to lying down on the grass and just watching the stars at night.

 

The doorbell isn’t working anymore. Chanyeol wonders when it had stopped working, whether it was his and Baekhyun’s own doing that it broke down because of playing with it too much back in the day. He fights back a smile as he nervously reaches up to press the red button. It’s faded and worn, the casing almost detached from the wall, making sense when it doesn’t work. Chanyeol takes a deep breath and knocks instead.

 

No one is obviously home. Chanyeol drops his hand and takes a step back. There’s disappointment on the corners of his lips, pulling them down in a much too familiar frown. Walking backwards down on the path, he notices the drawn curtain. Those would be open if someone was home, _if_ anyone still called this a home. It had been a home to Chanyeol, too, once upon a time, when things had been more innocent and simpler.

 

With a sigh, Chanyeol turns around and walks away. It was wrong to hope that he thought he knew Baekhyun enough to know that this was the place he would be if Chanyeol wanted to find Baekhyun. Baekhyun is the homiest person that Chanyeol knows. Baekhyun _is_ home. But Baekhyun hasn’t been for quite some time now and Chanyeol is starting to think he never will be again.

 

The muggle world is still so fascinating to Chanyeol even after all this time, even after all the trips he and Baekhyun had made. Chanyeol’s eyes widen at plain buildings at the weird way people dressed (although he supposed it wasn’t so weird to him anymore since Chanyeol barely wore cloaks anymore, except for certain occasions) and the way things were just… there.

 

Chanyeol kicks at a stone, watching it bounce a couple of feet away, as he walks and walks away from where he thought Baekhyun would be. He should find some place where he could apparate back to his office, but he thinks he’d rather not face Joonmyun at the moment and have to tell him that no, he still hasn’t found Baekhyun, that no, Baekhyun really doesn’t want Chanyeol to find him because he really doesn’t want to see him, ever again.

 

The thought is pernicious and something that he’s refused to acknowledge for a long time. But it’s back with fangs bigger than ever and more poisonous. Perhaps, it’s time for him to accept the fact that he’s lost his friend and, quite possibly, the love of his life, forever, despite not knowing the reasons for it.

 

There’s a crack on the pavement that he misses, causing him to trip with his palms breaking his fall. For a second, he just sits there thinking about how Baekhyun would merely be rolling his eyes at his clumsiness before helping him up. Snickering to himself, he gets up and dusts his pants. In all things, even the smallest, Baekhyun is in the back of his mind still. As he pats his shirt, he notices a smudge of red on the hem of his shirt. It’s only then he realizes that his palms are both bleeding. Luckily, there’s a nearby convenience store where he can buy some bandages.

 

Chanyeol remembers a lot of things from when he stayed with Baekhyun in his home in the muggle world during a number of summers; things like playing in the park, running away from the big dogs of the neighborhood, playing games like basketball and soccer in the nearby field. And then there were their convenience store escapades, where Chanyeol will help Baekhyun find all the pennies and nickels littering every nook and cranny of his house so that they could buy knickknacks at the store. After a while, of course, they found that they could just exchange their wizard money to muggle money, but they kept on with the tradition even when they seemed too old for it.

 

He got one of everything that he remembers they bought back in the day, a mixture of candies, biscuits, chocolate, and some drinks. Chanyeol thinks he probably looks silly, buying a ridiculous amount of snacks, but he doesn’t care. He’s going to take them home and eat them all, while maybe pretending that Baekhyun was with him. It’s pathetic, especially for someone his age, Kyungsoo would probably say so, but Chanyeol doesn’t care. He’s going to exhaust every bit of his being that misses Baekhyun and only until then will he stop and move on.

 

“Ice cream,” Chanyeol mutters to himself, recalling how he and Baekhyun tried creating their own ice cream flavors and made big messes in the kitchen. He chuckles because they thought of the silliest names for their ice cream, stupid names like _When Batman and Robin Clash_ for a dark chocolate with raspberry flavor (even though Chanyeol kept on insisting that raspberry isn’t really red and dark chocolate isn’t actually black—no one argued with Byun Baekhyun when it came to ice cream).

 

Ice cream can normally be found at the far end of shops so Chanyeol, armed with a basket of various childhood treats, marches towards the last aisle. Sure enough three freezers of an assortment of cold indulgences are located there. He stops in front of the first freezer and peeks through the glass, wondering what he should get. He and Baekhyun had eaten a variety of muggle ice cream in the past but when they’d decided to stick to Florean Fortescue’s, they’d stopped going to convenience stores for ice cream. He slides the glass open, putting his basket down, deciding to try the red bean one. But then he sees the melon-flavored ice drop and thinks about getting that instead.

 

Chanyeol is in the middle of a very serious internal debate about ice cream flavors when there’s a shocked cry behind him. He swiftly turns around at the sound and practically chokes as he inhales so quickly.

 

Baekhyun looks like he’s just brave some strong winds with his disheveled brown hair, unkempt dark green scarf around his neck, zipped up red jacket and dark brown pants. His eyes are wide behind his black frames and Chanyeol feels like they’re ten years old all over again.

 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asks breathlessly. His breath hitches in his throat when Chanyeol takes a step forward but pauses in uncertainty. “Are you—? I—you’re here.”

 

“Hi,” Chanyeol responds lamely, unsure as to how to react to the fact that Byun Baekhyun is finally standing in front of him after two years of searching. He grabs the hem of his shirt, pulling it down, because he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.

 

Baekhyun’s eyes follow the movement, his eyes widening and mouth opening with a start. “Your hands are bleeding,” he tells him with a furrow to his brow and a concerned tone to his voice. Chanyeol hopes he’s not just imagining it.

 

Chanyeol looks down at his palms and remembers the very reason why he went inside the convenience store in the first place: bandages. “Oh,” he says, chuckling sheepishly. “I was going to—.” He looks around for the counter where he thinks he saw band-aids earlier before turning back to Baekhyun.

 

There are so many things Chanyeol wants to say, things that he should say. But he isn’t sure where to begin, or how. Chanyeol can’t even fully comprehend the fact that he actually—finally—found Baekhyun. He knows that Baekhyun probably changed a lot in the past two years that Chanyeol wasn’t around, knows that things could have changed. Mostly Chanyeol wonders if their relationship can go back to the way it was. Because if they can’t be _more_ , Chanyeol will settle for being best friends, as long as he still has Baekhyun by his side. Once upon a time, they had vowed that they would be together forever. Sometimes, though, words are just words and nothing more. Chanyeol wonders which is true for them.

 

“Where have you been?” Baekhyun cuts through the silence. Chanyeol’s brows furrow in confusion. “I mean…” Baekhyun hesitates, biting his lower lip and fiddling with the end of his scarf. His eyes move towards Chanyeol’s hands and then he’s walking towards the counter to buy a box of band-aids before coming back.

 

Baekhyun tends to his wounds with the same affection as Baekhyun did in the past. Well not exactly the same. Baekhyun normally scolded Chanyeol while he patched him up, continuously telling Chanyeol how clumsy he is, how Chanyeol should always watch where he’s going and what he’s doing to avoid any accidents. But while Baekhyun did so, his touches would always be gentle. Of course when gashes and bruises escalated to Chanyeol needing to be brought to the infirmary, Baekhyun got more upset but even gentler at the same time.

 

“I can’t believe this still happens to you,” is the only thing that Baekhyun mutters while he puts bandages on the heels of his palms and Chanyeol has to fight back a smile. “There,” he announces, stepping back to survey his work and then look up at Chanyeol.

 

“How are you?” Chanyeol blurts out. “How have you been?” He decides not to ask _where have you been_ because it feels foreign just thinking about it, and because maybe it’s not something Baekhyun is ready to talk about.

 

Baekhyun opens his mouth to answer, but an owl swoops right in front of them and lands on one of the freezers. The Great Gray Owl stares imploringly at Chanyeol, who immediately recognizes the seal on the letter tied to its leg.

 

Chanyeol reads the note, rolling his eyes at the confirmation that it is indeed from Joonmyun. He gets to the end quickly enough; it’s mostly just Joonmyun looking for him anyway, reminding him of deadlines and that he can’t disappear without notice just like that. Chanyeol pockets the note, opening his mouth to say something when the words die in his throat.

 

Baekhyun is petting Hermes. Baekhyun is petting Hermes and Hermes is letting him like no time had gone by. Chanyeol’s owl is normally very picky with people but he’s always taken such a liking to Baekhyun. A wave of nostalgia washes over Chanyeol and he takes a deep breath to fight it back down. Now is not the time.

 

“I have to go,” Chanyeol breaks the endearing moment by apologizing. Baekhyun’s smile falls for a bit before he’s smiling even brighter than before. “Will you be here when I get back? Where are you staying? I’ve been going to Florean Fortescue’s but Jongdae is the only one always there. I also went to your house but no one was there. So where are you staying?” Chanyeol blinks at him expectantly.

 

“You went to my house?” Baekhyun repeated, disbelief marring his face.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol instantly responds. “I mean, it took me two years to figure things out, but…” He smiles a little as Baekhyun’s eyes light up. “Yeah, I did. I’m finally here. I finally found you.”

 

“Finally,” Baekhyun repeats.

 

Baekhyun watches Chanyeol, eyes alight with much expectation. Chanyeol smiles somewhat uneasily. He’s not sure if now is the time to profess all the hardships and pains he went through just to look for Baekhyun, not to mention the guilt in knowing that Chanyeol had actually known in the back of his head where Baekhyun is the entire time. So he doesn’t because Joonmyun wants him back at the office and if he doesn’t return he’s probably going to hear from his parents about it.

 

Hermes hoots, breaking the silence, and Baekhyun jumps while Chanyeol chuckles awkwardly.

 

“I really have to go,” Chanyeol says apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. He’ll have to talk to Joonmyun about his timing when he gets back. “Work calls.”

 

“Oh,” Baekhyun mutters dejectedly, but nods. “Of course.”

 

They stand there both not quite knowing what to say, Baekhyun fiddling with his scarf, arranging and rearranging it around his neck and Chanyeol picking up his basket of snacks and swinging it. Seven years of friendship blurred by two years of separation.

 

“Well bye,” Baekhyun speaks up. There’s a smile on Baekhyun’s face but Chanyeol thinks he sees disappointment in his eyes. “I guess we’ll see each other around?” He almost snorts at the statement.

 

Chanyeol impulsively grabs Baekhyun’s wrist when the latter turns to go. “I go to Florean Fortescue’s but you’re never there,” he blurts out. “I—“ He cuts himself off and frowns, concentrating on the top of Baekhyun’s head. He’s never remembered it being this hard to ask Baekhyun to hang out with him. “I was thinking maybe we could talk… about things.”

 

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” Baekhyun says, making Chanyeol look at him with surprise. The disappointment earlier, which must have been just a flicker of Chanyeol’s imagination, is gone and is replaced with a certain joy that he’s always seen in Baekhyun whenever they were together.

 

“Okay, that’s… okay.” Chanyeol laughs, clearly unable to explain how happy this makes him. “I’ll be by after work.”

 

Baekhyun nods and then he’s waving and making his way out of the store. Chanyeol watches him leave longingly and a bit fearfully. Seeing him leave after yearning for him for so long just makes Chanyeol want to reach out and stop him from ever leaving his side. But he takes a deep breath and walks to the counter to pay for his purchases. They have tomorrow now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a pretty bad storm. The trees are swinging dangerously left and right, their leaves and branches flying around. The ground is muddy and sleepy. To add to that, he can barely see anything. But Chanyeol has to be out here. Baekhyun is mad at him and he has to do something to make it right.

 

Chanyeol reaches the forbidden forest in far longer time it would have taken him if it weren’t raining. But he thinks this is right about the place where Baekhyun had dropped his wand—well, where he’d made Baekhyun drop his wand. It was an accident really. It wasn’t even his fault. At least most of it wasn’t.

 

They were coming out of the forest after a Care of Magical Creatures class and returning to the castle when Chanyeol was hit with a tickling spell cast by one of the students who was practicing it. Chanyeol had, of course, been tickled, rather mercilessly, and he laughed and wiggled. He also accidentally pushed Baekhyun sprawling to the ground, making him lose hold of his wand, which he was just stuffing back in his pocket. They could have looked for it but then it started raining so they all just ran back to the castle.

 

But it’s been two days and Baekhyun’s been miserable using second-hand wands for schoolwork and it’s really not working for him very well (if the explosions that happens in every time were any indication). Baekhyun’s also not talking to Chanyeol. And so Chanyeol is in the forbidden forest because he wants Baekhyun to do well in his classes and maybe stop telling everyone that he’s a useless wizard. That, and if he has to endure another day of Baekhyun ignoring him he’s going to self-combust with wretchedness.

 

Not caring about his robes or that he’s going to look like he rolled around in mud and swam in it, he falls to his knees and takes out his wand. Chanyeol’s never really been good at spells so it’s no surprise when _accio Baekhyun’s wand_ doesn’t work. He pockets his wand ruefully and stands back up. He decides to start search nearer Hagrid’s hut because that’s where he remembers the incident happening.

 

It doesn’t take him a long time of searching, just maybe three to four hours, until he finds it. It was almost buried under all the rain and mud when he inadvertently—luckily—palms it. He grabs it and raises both his fists up in victory before he’s scrambling up to run back towards the castle.

 

Of course Chanyeol falls sick. Baekhyun gets angrier with Chanyeol than Chanyeol thought possible.

 

“Stupid,” Baekhyun mutters as he dumps a folded face towel that’s been soaked in ice-cold water on Chanyeol’s forehead. Chanyeol yelps. “Dumb. Stupid. You look like you swam in the lake! This is quite possibly the stupidest thing you’ve done to date, Park Chanyeol.”

 

“Oh him _actually_ swimming in the lake has been trumped?” Jongin quips. Kyungsoo cuffs his neck.

 

Chanyeol frowns. All he wanted was for Baekhyun to have his wand back and for his best friend to start talking to him again. Of course he would have done anything. Chanyeol hates it when Baekhyun is unhappy and he hates it even more when Baekhyun is unhappy with him. He watches as Baekhyun fusses over his pillows and his blankets, a furrow in his brows, still muttering how annoyed he is with Chanyeol.

 

When Baekhyun has shoved all their friends out of the infirmary, Baekhyun gets him water and places it on the table beside the bed. He reaches out and feels Chanyeol’s forehead.

 

“Madam Pomfrey said you only need to stay the night and then you can go back to attending classes,” Baekhyun tells him, lips pursed. He just stands there for a moment, eyebrows scrunching together before turning to leave.

 

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol calls out. Baekhyun faces him and Chanyeol stares at the foot of the bed. “I just… you kept saying that a wizard is useless without his wand and I didn’t want you to feel that—you’re not—I just wanted you to stop being mad at me.”

 

Baekhyun places a hand on his calf, cutting him off. “You’re really dumb, Park Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol looks away and closes his eyes. He doesn’t think he can bear to keep on disappointing Baekhyun. All he knows is that he’s sorry and he never ever wants Baekhyun to feel anything less than he is.

 

“I wouldn’t be a wizard if I wasn’t Byun Baekhyun first,” Baekhyun continues speaking after taking a deep breath. “And Byun Baekhyun isn’t Byun Baekhyun without Park Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol opens his eyes and meets Baekhyun’s gaze, startled. “What—?”

 

“I’m saying that you should stop doing dumb and dangerous thing to yourself,” Baekhyun elaborates, rolling his eyes. “You could have slipped or could have been hit by something that was caught in the wind and could have gotten into an accident or—“

 

“I get it,” Chanyeol croaks emotionally, grabbing onto Baekhyun’s wrist and pulling him closer. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Next time that’s all you’ll have to say and I’ll believe you,” Baekhyun assures him, “and I’ll forgive you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ice cream is melting and Chanyeol almost winces because it is such a waste. But he can’t find it in himself to start eating either, not when Baekhyun is sitting across from him, and not saying anything. Chanyeol wonders if maybe he made a mistake. Maybe Baekhyun really didn’t want to be found, not by Chanyeol anyway. Maybe that’s why Baekhyun doesn’t seem to have anything to say to him. Because there’s nothing to say. The question of _what happened between them_ is burning at the tip of his tongue, but he just can’t find it in him to actually ask it. There are still certain things he will never be ready for, things like why Baekhyun has gotten tired of him.

 

“So.” Baekhyun startles Chanyeol by breaking the silence. “How have you been?”

 

“Fine,” Chanyeol lamely answers and then clears his throat because he was far from being okay. “I work at the ministry,” he continues, “for the Magical Division and, uh, I’ve been working with Joonmyun and Kyungsoo.” He shrugs. “My life is far from exciting.”

 

“Hmm,” Baekhyun merely mutters in response. Chanyeol thinks he imagines the disappointment on his face again.

 

“How are you?” Chanyeol then decides to ask.

 

Baekhyun shrugs. “I’ve been okay,” is his only answer. He props his chin on his open palm, elbow on the table. “I’ve just been helping uncle.” He glances around the shop, missing Chanyeol’s surprised expression.

 

“But… you’re never here,” Chanyeol points out. “Jongdae’s always the only one here ever since I—“ He stops himself and stares at the tabletop. There’s that thought again, the constant doubt if this is how it’s going to be from now on: Baekhyun being back in Chanyeol’s life with Chanyeol constantly trying to ignore the fact that Baekhyun probably doesn’t want to be back in it at all.

 

“How’s… your family? How are aunt and uncle doing?” Baekhyun changes the subject.

 

“Good, I guess,” Chanyeol answers, ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth. “I barely talk to my dad, but my mom calls once a week to ask me how I’m doing, mostly asking who I’m dating.” He rolls his eyes and makes a face. It’s a bit bothersome the way his mother constantly presses him on his love life, which is, of course non-existent considering—

 

“And are you?” Baekhyun cuts into his thoughts. “Dating, I mean.”

 

Chanyeol ends up chuckling because the idea of him dating anyone who isn’t Baekhyun just sounds preposterous to him. Baekhyun frowns and Chanyeol immediately sobers up.

 

“I wish I was,” Chanyeol tells him with a wistful sigh, trying not to look at Baekhyun too much. He’s quiet for a few seconds before he’s laughing off his longing and the awkwardness of the situation.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t reply. In fact, he just sits back on his seat and swirls his spoon in his now half-full melted ice cream cup like he’s been doing for the past hour. Chanyeol quietly takes a deep breath and thinks of topics to bring up so they can continue talking. Maybe they can talk about their friends, how Yifan’s doing or Joonmyun and Kyungsoo since Chanyeol works with them.

 

Chanyeol straightens in his seat and just decides to plunge in. “Look, Baekhyun, about what happened between us… I hope you don’t think that—I mean, I don’t want things between us to change and—”

 

“I don’t have time for this, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun interrupts rigidly, meeting his eyes. There’s that disappointment again, except there’s more this time. Chanyeol thinks Baekhyun looks sad and mildly annoyed. “I don’t know how to say this, but…” His hands are clasped with each other, squeezing, as if encouraging himself. “…things are different now. You don’t have to worry about that.”

 

Of course things are different. Chanyeol was reminded of it each day that Baekhyun was gone. Now that Baekhyun’s back, he sees that things aren’t going to be that much different. If anything, Baekhyun being back is just going to emphasize that fact. Because now Chanyeol can see that Baekhyun can live without Chanyeol, that a Byun Baekhyun can exist without a Park Chanyeol. Meanwhile, Chanyeol continues to struggle with the idea of never having _that_ Baekhyun back in his life.

 

Chanyeol looks up and panics when he sees that Baekhyun is walking towards the door after having stopped by the counter to talk to Jongdae. He will deal with Jongdae later. He probably knew who Chanyeol was all along. Chanyeol gets to the door before Baekhyun can, childishly standing in front of it and spreading his arms to Baekhyun can’t get through.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says impatiently.

 

“Just hear me out,” Chanyeol blurts out. Baekhyun sighs but crosses his arms and looks at him expectantly. “I’m sorry,” he exclaims, startling Baekhyun.

 

“For what?” Baekhyun asks, arms falling to his sides, eyes searching Chanyeol’s.

 

“For whatever it is that I did to make you leave me, to make you not want to be my best friend anymore,” Chanyeol barrels on hopefully at the sight of Baekhyun’s lessening resistance. “You probably got tired of taking care of me or putting up with my dumb, but I’m sorry. I really am,” he earnestly states. “I know there was a reason that you never replied to all the letters I sent you and there was a reason when I suddenly didn’t know where you were when I came back from vacation. But we’re here now, even if we did see each other again by accident, and I’m just…” He takes a step towards Baekhyun, jaw clenched so his lips wouldn’t tremble with how much he’s trying hard not to cry. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun repeats, this time in a whisper. His eyes are wide and his mouth is half open.

 

“It’s been two years, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol responds quietly, feeling very small. “Don’t you think that’s enough punishment?” He looks up and sees Baekhyun open his mouth to speak so he cuts him off. “I probably deserved it. But, Baek, I really miss you.”

 

Baekhyun stands there, clearly at a loss as to what to say or how he should react to all the things that Chanyeol has just said. It’s obvious that this is not how he expected this conversation to go. Chanyeol shuffles in his stance uncomfortably. He probably said too much. This would not be the first time his mouth run away with him and if Baekhyun is actually tired of everything Chanyeol, that monologue almost certainly won’t do anything to change Baekhyun’s mind.

 

“Get down here,” Baekhyun suddenly speaks, voice raspy.

 

“What?” Chanyeol dumbly asks.

 

“I said,” Baekhyun repeats, clearing his throat. His eyes look suspiciously glassy, but Baekhyun can’t be crying because Chanyeol is the crybaby between the two of them. “Get down here so I can give you a hug.”

 

Chanyeol doesn’t need to be told again. Except after he swoops down to receive his hug, he wraps his arms tightly around Baekhyun and lifts him up, until Baekhyun kicks his shin.

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol whispers in his hair.

 

“You are dumb, but you’re my best friend,” Baekhyun whispers back. “You know _sorry_ is the magic word between us.” He tightens his hold on Chanyeol for a second as he very softly whispers three more words Chanyeol’s always wanted to hear from Baekhyun.

 

“I love you,” Chanyeol replies even more quietly, despite knowing that Baekhyun means it differently. Baekhyun means it as that kind of love that you have for family, that natural, patient, unending love. But that’s okay. It doesn’t matter. Chanyeol can love Baekhyun romantically unrequitedly. He’s been doing it for eight years. He can do it for eight more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I hate this stupid assignment,” Baekhyun grumbles as they leave greenhouse three. “I hate mandrakes. I hate Herbology _and_ Potions.”

 

“It’s not so bad,” Joonmyun counters with a small smile. “I think mandrakes are kind of cute.” Everyone falters in their steps to look at Joonmyun, making him blush. “Fine, they’re quite a handful. But as long as you know how to raise them and then uproot them, it’s not so hard.”

 

Baekhyun makes a face underneath his Gryffindor knit scarf. “I don’t know why we have to create a Mandrake Restorative Draught! It’s a really difficult potion.”

 

“You’ve been saying that for the past six months, Baek,” Chanyeol teases him and Baekhyun pouts.

 

“Now that you mentioned it, though, it’s really interesting that we were asked to make this particular potion since it’s quite complicated. And it takes so much time,” Joonmyun muses, hitching his bag higher up his shoulder. He trips on a step when they reach the castle and Chanyeol grabs onto his collar, while Kyungsoo holds onto his arm.

 

“We’ve brewed Amortentia,” Kyungsoo comments, glaring at Joonmyun to make sure he won’t trip again. “I don’t think there’s anything more complicated than making a potion to make a person feel things they wouldn’t normally feel. That’s tampering of feelings and a person’s free will, let me remind you.”

 

“Aww, Soo.” Chanyeol hooks an arm around his neck. “It’s okay. We know that you didn’t mean to kiss Naeun.” He sniggers when Kyungsoo stiffens beside him and tightly grips his hand that’s on his shoulder, especially since Kyungsoo was sure that Lizzy, Naeun’s best friend, heard that.

 

Baekhyun gets distracted and laughs heartily, pulling at Chanyeol, which makes Chanyeol pull away from Kyungsoo and put his arm around Baekhyun instead. Baekhyun then sighs as they reach the grand staircase and watches for a bit as the staircases move around before sighing again.

 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Chanyeol murmurs in his ear, squeezing his shoulder lightly. “The mandrakes have matured and are ready for uprooting starting tomorrow.”

 

“That’s what I hate the most,” Baekhyun whines, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s waist and burying his face in his chest.

 

The next day finds Chanyeol in greenhouse three again with Joonmyun. Joonmyun, being the most studious in their group of friends, always does things with a schedule and always gets ahead of class work. Chanyeol knew that Joonmyun would be the first to start uprooting his mandrakes and decided to come with him when he does so. Kyungsoo wanted to get a head start on his Arithmancy homework, while Yifan indulged Jongin with copying his Ancient Runes essay. Baekhyun, meanwhile, is set on putting off finishing the joint Herbology and Potions work at the very last minute.

 

Chanyeol visibly shudders at the sight of the mandrakes, all-mature and ready to be uprooted, once they enter the greenhouse. Joonmyun walks right to the closet of aprons and gloves, throwing a set to Chanyeol, who catches them clumsily. Joonmyun then goes straight to his mandrakes and rubs his gloved hands together in anticipation.

 

“I can’t believe you’re excited over something like this,” Chanyeol mutters, going past his own set and goes on the other side of the table, across Joonmyun.

 

“What are you doing?” Joonmyun asks, pointedly glancing at Chanyeol’s set of mandrakes, which is to his right side.

 

“Helping out.” Chanyeol’s brows are furrowed the way it does when he’s concentrating.

 

“Chanyeol, you can’t just keep on doing things like this for Baekhyun.” Joonmyun is frowning, but Chanyeol couldn’t care less.

 

When Baekhyun drags his legs to class the next week, he’s pleasantly surprised to find all his ingredients for the draught all prepared for him. He looks up and meets Joonmyun’s eyes, which flicker over to Chanyeol, who is very much focused on making his potion with his tongue out. Baekhyun’s eyes go soft when it lands on his best friend.

 

“Chanyeol, you’re an idiot,” Baekhyun calls out loudly. The professor reprimands him but he’s grinning, and really, that’s enough for Chanyeol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So… this is what you meant when you said things are going well?” Joonmyun asks conversationally as they put on their plates from the buffet table.

 

Chanyeol swallows nervously despite the smile on his face and looks up to their table, where Baekhyun is happily catching up with Kyungsoo and Yifan on the table. Chanyeol thought it was a good idea to gather the whole group to help ease Baekhyun back in his life. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Chanyeol doesn’t know what else to do with Baekhyun’s return.

 

“Things are going well,” Chanyeol insists, looking away when Baekhyun catches him looking. He dumps a slab of meat on his plate and adds buttered corn on top of it. Joonmyun gives him an amused look like he knows Chanyeol is lying.

 

Chanyeol isn’t really lying. Not really.  After that rather dramatic scene back at the ice cream shop, he and Baekhyun have let the past two years be bygones. They didn’t really talk about it, seeing as it’s a rather sensitive topic for the both of them, so they just let it be. For now, at least. The thing is, Chanyeol isn’t sure how to act around Baekhyun anymore. It’s clear that things have changed. He’s not entirely sure how far Baekhyun would let him get with getting back to being friends with him.

 

“You haven’t said a word to each other ever since we got here,” Jongin points out rather bluntly. “How is that _going well_?”

 

“No one asked you,” Chanyeol snaps, grabbing the drumstick that Jongin has just placed on his plate and putting it on his. Granted that it seems he and Baekhyun are ignoring each other, avoiding each other’s gazes and everything, Jongin didn’t have a right to go and say out loud his observations.

 

“Hey!” Jongin complains, grumbling as he gets another piece of chicken.

 

“It will be fine. I’m sure you guys will just naturally gravitate back into each other’s lives, just like the way it happened back then,” Joonmyun encourages, popping an egg tart in his mouth.

 

Chanyeol opens his mouth to say something contrary to this because so much has happened (or not happened) for this gravitating towards each other to not occur at all. But then he happens to glance towards Baekhyun. He’s looking at Chanyeol, like he’s remembering something fond and Chanyeol wonders for a moment if it’s possible. He thinks back to all the things they used to do together and asks himself if they can still have that again. He smiles a little, which Baekhyun returns, before he’s turning his attention back to Joonmyun and Jongin, who are squabbling like children over the last piece of pie. Chanyeol thinks he has time to try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol is buried underneath his thick blanket and bed cover when he hears the door opening and closing in turn. He squeezes his eyes shut and freezes, pretending to be asleep. Everyone he knows is downstairs in the great hall, enjoying dinner. But maybe Hoya or Minho forgot something and decided to come back for it. Baekhyun isn’t really the type to go back to the dormitories for something during dinner.

 

“Chanyeol?”

 

Chanyeol inhales inaudibly, eyes opening wide. There’s only one reason why Baekhyun would be up there during dinner. Baekhyun must have found out about what happened. Chanyeol shuts his eyes once more and pretends he hadn’t heard him. Maybe if Baekhyun sees that Chanyeol is asleep, he would go away.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t go away.

 

The bed dips and Chanyeol stiffens when he feels his best friend climbing onto the bed and under the covers beside him. Baekhyun presses against his back, an arm wrapping around his waist.

 

“Hey,” Baekhyun tries again, softer this time. He smells like pumpkin juice.

 

Chanyeol considers not talking, knowing that Baekhyun wouldn’t hold it against him, wouldn’t care about them just staying there, not saying a word. But then again, whom else would he talk to if not Baekhyun?

 

“She rejected me,” Chanyeol blurts out, sounding more broken than he felt.

 

Baekhyun tightens his arm around Chanyeol’s waist. “So what?” is his immediate response. “It’s her loss. Honestly, I don’t even know why you asked Dara to go with you. There are better dates out there.”

 

“Hey, Dara is pretty,” Chanyeol defends with a frown.

 

Baekhyun chuckles. “Of course she is. But won’t you rather go with me?” He coughs. “Your best friend?”

 

Chanyeol turns around and faces Baekhyun, looking surprised. “But I thought you were going with Taeyeon!” he says.

 

Last week, he had seen Baekhyun talking to Taeyeon about the Yule Ball. It was then that Chanyeol had decided that he was going to make the most out of the situation. If Baekhyun was going with a date, then it was just right that Chanyeol went with one, too. Normally, he would have just stuck with Baekhyun because what better date was there than with someone you really like? But then Baekhyun wasn’t going to be available and Chanyeol came up with a plan to ask Dara, whom he thinks is one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts, to go with him. Except she was already going with Jiyoung, a sixth year Slytherin.

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. “Not me,” he corrects. “She’s going with Joonmyun.” Chanyeol gapes in shock and Baekhyun laughs. “Yeah,” Baekhyun shares. “Apparently, Joonmyun had asked her the week before—that sly bastard—and he asked me if I could secretly find out what color of dress she was wearing so he could match with her to surprise her. So I went to ask Hyoyeon but then Taeyeon overheard us and she just told me herself that it was navy blue.”

 

“You ruined the surprise.” Chanyeol laughs when Baekhyun smiles sheepishly.

 

“He doesn’t know so don’t tell anyone,” Baekhyun tells him, giggling.

 

Chanyeol laughs again then sighs, hugging Baekhyun closer to him. “So we’ll go together then?” he asks quietly. He feels slightly better but his heart is beating hard in his chest. He wonders if Baekhyun can feel it.

 

“Silly.” Baekhyun chuckles and snuggles closer to him the way he used to when either one of them felt sad about something. “When have we not done things together?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Chanyeol had found out that Baekhyun was Florean Fortescue’s nephew and that he would someday take over running the ice cream business for his uncle, he was beyond excited. He was 11 years old and the thought of having a friend who owned an ice cream shop was just heaven to him. Now, years later, that thing is true. Baekhyun has taken over running Florean Fortescue’s ice cream parlor. Baekhyun is behind the counter, taking orders and serving wizards and witches with their famous ice cream.

 

Chanyeol leans back on his seat as he eyes the latest concoction that was served to him: _Pineapple Ache_. Jongdae had served it to him, rather enthusiastically, as Baekhyun was busy in the back. Chanyeol missed most of the explanation about the ice cream because he was too busy figuring out how Baekhyun managed to run the ice cream shop without Chanyeol ever really realizing it. He supposes it’s another one of those things he’s not going to get an answer to.

 

“You okay?” Chanyeol looks up and finds Baekhyun taking a seat across him. “You haven’t touched your ice cream,” Baekhyun adds, glancing at the light yellow cold treat.

 

“Well I’m always skeptical about the flavors that Jongdae makes me try,” Chanyeol jokes as he dips his spoon in and out of the ice cream.

 

“Which—which ones among those he’s made you try did you like?” Baekhyun asks, watching Chanyeol closely.

 

Chanyeol pauses and pouts, eyebrows furrowing, as he thinks about it. “Maybe the _Optimistic Orange Blossom_ one?” he decides. “It’s the one I get the most. Although I haven’t really tried everything.”

 

“Oh,” Baekhyun responds, looking pleased at his answer. “Well which ones haven’t you tried?” he then inquires, glancing back at Jongdae, who is watching them from the cashier. Jongdae smiles sheepishly and goes back to wiping counter when Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at him.

 

“Well…” Chanyeol thinks. “There’s the Dark Knight one…”

 

“The _Dark Knight in Shining Armor_?” Baekhyun says interestedly.

 

Chanyeol nods, smiling a little. “I didn’t think I was ready to taste _falling in love_ ,” he explains with a chuckle. He’s still afraid to try it. He’s just not ready. “Besides, I know what that feels like.”

 

“Of course you do,” Baekhyun mutters, leaning back in his seat, not meeting his eyes.

 

Baekhyun traces the edge of the round table with his fingertips, not offering any more words to the conversation. It makes Chanyeol wonder if Baekhyun’s been in a relationship in the past two years. He wonders if Baekhyun fell in love and if he’s actually with someone at the moment. Jongdae seems like a viable choice for a partner, Chanyeol thinks as Jongdae laughs at something the customer ordering said. Jongdae is witty and funny and handsome. That curl at the edge of his lips is definitely attractive. It wouldn’t surprise Chanyeol if they were actually going out. Why would Baekhyun trust his shop to just anyone?

 

There is also the matter of Sehun. It was the day they had left Hogwarts for good. Chanyeol had just gotten off the boat that brought them from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade and was looking for Baekhyun. For some reason, he and Baekhyun didn’t get on the same boat, something Chanyeol has always regretted. He looked for Baekhyun in Hogsmeade station and found him soon enough, with Sehun. They’d just gotten off one of the boats, talking seriously until Baekhyun practically threw himself onto Sehun. Chanyeol can’t forget the way Sehun wrapped his arms around Baekhyun and tucked Baekhyun’s head into his neck. It still bothers him until now.

 

It’s not really Chanyeol’s place to wonder, though. At the moment, he’s not anyone in Baekhyun’s life. At the very least, they’re acquaintances.

 

“So you’ve been running the shop for two years?” Chanyeol asks as casually as he can, not wanting to sound bitter.

 

Baekhyun shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Uncle only officially handed the reins over to me a couple of months ago,” he explains, “so not really.” He bites his lower lip uncertainly. “Chanyeol, it’s not that I didn’t—”

 

“No, it’s okay, I get it,” Chanyeol immediately states with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. Baekhyun doesn’t need to explain to him. There is nothing to explain. After all, they’re barely friends. He taps his spoon on the cup before letting go of it completely. “I should go,” he announces, straightening up in his seat.

 

Baekhyun just sits there, staring at the tabletop, biting his lower lip, as if he hadn’t heard Chanyeol. Chanyeol decides then that he isn’t going to ask for anything more from Baekhyun. Somehow, Chanyeol had screwed their friendship up and it’s something he’s going to have to live with from here on out. He supposes that it’s a miracle that Baekhyun even bothered talking to him at all. Once upon a time, Baekhyun would have wanted Chanyeol by his side always. But things change.

 

“Hey Chanyeol.” Baekhyun’s hand is gripping the sleeve of Chanyeol’s coat. “I…” Baekhyun trails off as Chanyeol sits back down. “I’ve asked uncle if we could incorporate more smoothies in the menu and he said yes so I was thinking of experimenting with some flavors and—”

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol interrupts him gently, a soft look in his eyes, “you’re rambling.”

 

“Do you want to come over when I do?” Baekhyun blurts out, looking uncertain as he plays with his fingers. “Experiment, I mean,” he clarifies. “I’ve bought all the ingredients and it would be nice if—I mean I’d understand if you were busy—”

 

The fact that Baekhyun is inviting Chanyeol to help him out with something that is close to his heart makes Chanyeol’s heart beat fast in his chest. This was all they did back in the day and doing it now, in Baekhyun’s home, too, may mean that maybe they’re on their way back to the way it used to be. It doesn’t even matter that Baekhyun seemed to have asked him as an afterthought. But the way he babbled…

 

Chanyeol remembers this one time when Baekhyun asked him to talk to Youngwoon about Quidditch team tryouts (because there was a time when Baekhyun thought he could be a seeker for the Gryffindor team). Chanyeol never has qualms about talking to people, but the Gryffindor team captain was a big guy, built sturdily and was pretty scary so Chanyeol wasn’t sure he wanted to do it. But then Baekhyun babbled about how he really wanted to try out because his uncle was excited about it and Chanyeol just went ahead and talked to Youngwoon about tryouts.

 

The thing is, with Baekhyun, Chanyeol’s answer will always be yes.

 

“Yes,” Chanyeol practically yells, stunning Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun stares at him with wide eyes. “Yes, you’re busy or—?”

 

“Yes!” Chanyeol chokes when he realizes what he said. “I mean no!” He hurriedly corrects himself and pauses to collect himself. “What I mean is, yes, I will come over and help you with testing out flavors for smoothies. If, I mean, if the offer still stands since I’m pretty sure I just embarrassed myself.” Groaning, he buries his face in his hands because he is just the dumbest excuse for a person this world could ever know.

 

“You really did,” Baekhyun agrees with a laugh. Chanyeol lifts his head up to look at him in surprise. It’s the first time that day that Baekhyun looked like he was happy to be talking to Chanyeol. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, after lunch then?” he confirms as he stands up.

 

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Chanyeol babbles.

 

“My house,” Baekhyun tells him then swallows as he backtracks. “It’s near that convenience shop that we—”

 

“I know where you live, Baek,” Chanyeol assures him with a small smile.

 

Baekhyun nods, smiling. “Well I have to go back to work,” he says.

 

“See you tomorrow,” Chanyeol calls as Baekhyun makes his way back to the counter, where Jongdae’s sporting a grin that Chanyeol wants to smack off.

 

“Bye.” Baekhyun shyly waves back at him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol whines as he lies on his back on the red and gold carpet by the fireplace. The ceilings in the Hogwarts castle can be really interesting or boring, he thinks, as he stares at the brick that makes up the Gryffindor common room ceiling.

 

“Chanyeol, you’re stalling again,” Daehyun mutters, the tip of his quill in his mouth as he assesses his star chart.

 

“I’m bored,” Chanyeol complains, closing his eyes. They’ve been doing their Astronomy homework for what seemed like hours and all Chanyeol wanted to do was going out by the lake to lie down on the grass. He opens his eyes and looks at one of the tall windows and sees the inviting blue sky.

 

“You’re not even halfway through your work!” Daehyun chides him as he looks at Chanyeol’s unfinished chart. “Good thing I’m done,” he then announces as he rolls his up.

 

Chanyeol sits up at this and reaches a long arm to grab Daehyun’s homework. “Let me see,” he pleads.

 

“No, do your own.” Daehyun pokes his tongue out at him before standing up to return his books to the dormitories.

 

Chanyeol pouts after him. He decides that he doesn’t like Daehyun very much, even if he has this awesome collection of chocolate frog cards. He thinks real friendship can be measured by how much a friend allows you to copies his homework. At this, he turns to Baekhyun, who is busy looking at his star map, except—

 

“Hey.” Chanyeol’s eyes widen as he sees familiar lines, markings and places. “That’s not Astronomy homework!”

 

Baekhyun stiffens at being found out and scrambles to roll up and hide what is actually a map of the city of London. Chanyeol is faster than him, though, and grabs it in time to snatch it out of reach.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whines.

 

“And here I thought I was the only one not doing the star charts,” Chanyeol declares triumphantly. It’s obviously better when your best friend joins you in hating doing homework.

 

“I’m done with mine,” Baekhyun snaps at him, eyeing the map in Chanyeol’s hand. “Please give it back to me.”

 

Chanyeol narrows his eyes for a second before placing it back on the floor, right in front of the both of them. “What are you doing with a map of London, anyway?” he asks as Baekhyun flattens it with his palms. There are marks on it, highlighted places and small notes on the sides.

 

“I am planning,” Baekhyun seriously shares as he highlights another place on the map, “for when we go to London when we’re older. My mom’s always said that if there’s something that I want to happen, I should write it down and make a plan. That’s what I’m doing.”

 

“Well,” Chanyeol replies, trying not to sound too pleased that this plan includes him. “When is this plan going to take place?”

 

“I was thinking we can do a graduation trip,” Baekhyun tells him, shifting in his seat to look at Chanyeol with bright eyes. “It’ll be like our gift to ourselves.”

 

Chanyeol laughs. “Baek, that’s two years away,” he teases him.

 

“I know,” Baekhyun says, pouting at him. “But I really, really want us to go to London together. I hear it’s this amazing place where you can go into red boxes and there will be telephones and we can ride one of those double-decker buses or go into that tall tower with the clock, called Big Ben, or visit castles, where real royalty lived! Isn’t that exciting, Yeol?”

 

Chanyeol can’t help but be swayed by his best friend’s excitement. To be honest, Chanyeol doesn’t even need persuading to go on this trip with him. Just the thought of being away with Baekhyun is enough for him to agree.

 

“Tell you what,” Chanyeol starts, taking the pen from Baekhyun and writing down _1 st July 2011_ on the top of the map. “That’s when we’ll go on our trip to London. When we get back, we settle down for a bit, pack and then we leave. What do you say?”

 

Baekhyun jumps on him, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and not letting go even when Chanyeol falls on his back to the floor. Chanyeol laughs and hugs Baekhyun back tightly.

 

“You’re the best,” Baekhyun squeals through Chanyeol’s neck.

 

“We can even start traveling the world after that,” Chanyeol suggests.

 

Baekhyun lifts his head to get a good look at him and there’s a light in his eyes that makes Chanyeol want to fulfill everything that Baekhyun wants in this life. “You promise?”

 

“Pinky promise,” Chanyeol seriously states, holding out his pinky.

 

Baekhyun happily links his own pinky with his. “Pinky promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It turns out that Joonmyun’s words really do have a lot of wisdom in them. When he’d said Chanyeol and Baekhyun would probably just gravitate back towards each other, Chanyeol should have really have given him more credit. After Chanyeol had gone to help Baekhyun with smoothie flavors, Baekhyun seemed to have relaxed and warmed up to him. They’ve spent weekend after weekend together since, which has evolved to meeting up everyday. Chanyeol would always come over to Florean Fortescue’s after he’s done with work for the day, sometimes with Joonmyun and Kyungsoo and even Yifan and Jongin, but most days it would just be him.

 

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun chirps happily when Chanyeol pushes the door to the kitchen open and walks in.

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol greets him with a wide smile and walks over to the middle counter where Baekhyun is waving him over.

 

“Taste this.” Baekhyun excitedly take a small scoop of something that looks sweetly pink and feeds it to Chanyeol. “What do you think?” he asks when Chanyeol swirls it around his tongue.

 

“It’s…” There’s a drop in Chanyeol’s stomach that’s all too familiar, and it’s not really because of the ice cream. It’s more of what it reminds Chanyeol of. It reminds Chanyeol of that time when he was twelve years old and Baekhyun is lying on the grass laughing, like it’s his life’s mission, over Jongin tripping all over himself and falling head first into the lake. Chanyeol feels his heart swell at how he remembers thinking that _oh, he’s in love with Byun Baekhyun_.

 

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Baekhyun frowns and tastes it himself once more. Chanyeol watches as Baekhyun’s face lights up as soon as it touches his tongue, his cheeks pinking prettily in the process. “But… Hmm. Maybe I’m biased.”

 

“No,” Chanyeol stops him. “It’s good. I… like it. It tastes like…” Being in love with you. “It’s good, Baek,” he repeats when Baekhyun looks at him skeptically. “What’s it called?”

 

“I don’t know what I’ll call it yet,” Baekhyun decides, scrunching his nose cutely. “But it’s going to be a special flavor.”

 

“It definitely sounds like it’s special,” Chanyeol agrees, feeling breathless. He’s not sure what it tastes like to Baekhyun and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to explain the flavor to him if he doesn’t ask, but he really doesn’t want to ask.

 

“It is!” Baekhyun announces proudly and there’s that pinkness on his cheeks again as he puts the tub back into the freezer. “I think out of all the flavors I’ve created over the past few months, this one is going to be my favorite.”

 

Chanyeol frowns as he’s once again reminded that Baekhyun didn’t want him around for the most part of those past few months. Baekhyun looks up at Chanyeol right at this time. His eyes widen when he realizes that he’s opened old wounds once again.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Chanyeol immediately insists before Baekhyun can even open his mouth. “It’s not important.”

 

“But it is, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun softly says, a certain softness in his eyes that Chanyeol can’t explain. “I don’t really know how to explain it to you, but it is. I didn’t mean to…” He sighs. “I’m sorry. Not just for now, but for before. It wasn’t fair to you.”

 

Chanyeol waves it off like it’s nothing, but his chest feels lighter somehow. Baekhyun’s not once really wanted to talk about the past ever since they started being friends again and Chanyeol didn’t want to push him. Despite the apology, Chanyeol thinks that he should be the one who should make up for all that’s happened in the past two years. Chanyeol feels that it’s his responsibility and not Baekhyun’s.

 

“Hey Baekhyun,” Chanyeol begins, taking a deep breath. “Are you allowed to take vacations?”

 

Baekhyun thinks about it for a second and shrugs. “I can always leave the shop to Jongdae,” he answers, looking at Chanyeol as he takes out several tubs of ice cream from the freezer. “Why?”

 

“Well,” Chanyeol says. _Here goes nothing_. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to London. With me.”

 

Baekhyun drops the last tub of ice cream that he’s holding. Good thing he was placing it on the table already so it doesn’t really spill. Chanyeol doesn’t breathe as Baekhyun stares at him, mouth half-open in surprise, and Chanyeol understands really because well. London.

 

But Chanyeol still remembers Baekhyun’s excitement very clearly. He remembers how he talked about it everyday until their graduation arrived and thinks that, no matter what, he should fulfill some of that promise.

 

“I—well, this is sudden,” Baekhyun speaks and Chanyeol tries not let his disappointment show.

 

Chanyeol chuckles. “It’s fine,” he assures him. “There’s a conference there and I just thought that maybe you’d like to come since it would be just for two days and I could get a leave and we could spend the rest of the time going around and—”

 

“Okay,” Baekhyun cuts him off. “I’ll go.”

 

“Of course I know you’re busy and—what?” Chanyeol stops and stares.

 

“I’ll go,” Baekhyun repeats with a smile.

 

“That’s…” Chanyeol laughs in happiness.

 

“Pinky promise, right?” Baekhyun breathes out, stepping forward to boldly link Chanyeol’s pinky with his.

 

“Pinky promise,” Chanyeol repeats as he vows that this is one promise he’s going to keep and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London is so much more exciting to be in with Baekhyun. Though they haven’t really had the chance to go out and sightsee yet because Chanyeol is busy with the International Confederation of Wizards conference, just the thought that they’re there together is enough to make Chanyeol happy. Still, It’s been two days of discussions about renewing some trading practices, alignment of magical laws of all countries involved, and even new measures to hide and protect the wizarding world from muggles. It’s all very interesting because this is something that Chanyeol has been thinking of doing since his seventh year at Hogwarts. But the thought of Baekhyun alone in their hotel room makes him want to just agree to everything and hurry back to him. London has been a long time coming for them so all Chanyeol really wants to do is to spend time with Baekhyun.

 

There’s a nudge on his arm and Chanyeol jolts away from his thoughts. Joonmyun is giving him an annoyed but knowing look. “This is just going to take longer if you keep daydreaming instead of voting for a minor restructuring of—”

 

“I vote yes,” Chanyeol declares loudly, raising his hand.

 

The Supreme Mugwump nods and takes note of his vote and Chanyeol leans back on his seat, smiling smugly at Joonmyun. Joonmyun merely rolls his eyes and writes something down on his trusty notebook.

 

“I hope you know that you’re having dinner with Cottismore Croyne tonight,” Joonmyun reminds him, referring to the head of the International Confederation of Wizards. “He really wants to discuss some things with you, namely the fact that you need to gain his favor in order to get some bills passed.”

 

Chanyeol scrunches his face, groaning internally. If there’s one thing he hates in being part of the ministry is that there are things you can’t avoid doing, like certain political move of sucking up to certain people just so he can get some things done right and create something new during his tenure.

 

“I suppose calling in sick isn’t going to work?” Chanyeol jokes, earning a glare from Joonmyun. He sighs. “I’m just worried about Baekhyun. We’ve been here for two days and we haven’t really spent time together.”

 

“Chanyeol, you were late for both days,” Joonmyun reminds him exasperatedly. “ _And_ you left to have lunch with Baekhyun on both days as well _and_ ended up late for the afternoon sessions. I’d say you’ve already called in your sick card.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Chanyeol pacifies him, trying hard not to laugh at Joonmyun being so worked up.

 

Biting his inner cheek, Chanyeol thinks about coming back to the hotel, late yet again, and finding Baekhyun asleep, bundled up in blankets. He’d stopped in his tracks when he saw Baekhyun asleep the previous night. There was an overwhelming desire for him to climb up on the bed and wrap himself around the smaller male and just hug him. He’ll have to thank the hotel for getting their reservation wrong and giving them a room with a queen size bed instead of a room with two single sized ones. Chanyeol likes being close to Baekhyun like this. It reminds him of the days when he could so easily climb into Baekhyun’s bed when he wanted to cuddle with him.

 

“He’ll understand,” Joonmyun says after a moment, when he’s calmed down.

 

“Oh,” Chanyeol responds, startled. “Yeah, I’m sure he would.” Baekhyun has been nothing but excited during the whole trip so far. Chanyeol can’t wait to see how happy Baekhyun will be when they actually do some sightseeing. For now, he would just have to endure (not that it’s that difficult) doing his job before doing everything to make Baekhyun happy.

 

When Chanyeol gets back from dinner that evening, consisting of Cottismore Croyne blatantly telling Chanyeol in every other sentence that he’s a very important figure in the wizarding world and that everyone seeks for his advice and approval on practically everything, he does find Baekhyun in exactly how he expected him to be, asleep in a very cute manner.

 

He quietly takes off his shoes and coat, placing his shoes by the door and hanging the coat on the chair by the window. Putting on a a necktie is such a tedious task that Chanyeol feels kind of annoyed at how easy it is to take it off. He flings it to the nearest chair before making his way to the bathroom.

 

When Chanyeol comes out, freshly showered and comfortable in sleep clothes, he sits on the bed and Baekhyun stirs in his sleep.

 

“Back?” Baekhyun mumbles, eyes fluttering open fuzzily.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol replies softly, settling in between the sheets. “Go back to sleep.”

 

“Mhhmm, g’night, Yeol.” Baekhyun yawns and falls back asleep.

 

Chanyeol takes in the sight of Baekhyun sleeping peacefully beside him, mouth open with drool on his chin, and smiles. He closes his eyes, excited for the day tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Where do we go? What do we do first, Baek?” Chanyeol asks, eyes wide with excitement as he looks around Hogsmeade. It’s their first trip to the village as sixth years but, somehow, it still always feels like the first time for Chanyeol. “Do we get butterbeer from Three Broomsticks? Or do we buy candies in Honeydukes? Or go to Zonko’s? Oooh!” He claps his hands, letting go of Baekhyun’s hand. “We should visit the Shrieking Shack! We’ve never been there.” Baekhyun always said that it was just a stupid house.

 

“How about we do the things you like then we do some of mine?” Baekhyun suggests with a smile that is more blinding than the scorching sun.

 

Chanyeol grins back and grabs Baekhyun’s hand in his again. “Let’s go!”

 

They go everywhere. They visit Zonko’s Joke Shop, where they stock up on Dungbombs, Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, Sugar Quills, and Nose-Biting Teacups among others. Chanyeol keeps insisting as he hoards them that you can never have too much ammo against Kim Jongin and Do Kyungsoo. He also adds that it would be fun to laugh at Joonmyun when he realizes why his quill isn’t working after a couple of tries of writing with it.

 

They head to Honeydukes next, where Chanyeol ends up buying Baekhyun two boxes of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans even when he knows that Baekhyun is just going to give all the nasty flavors for him to eat. Well, Baekhyun did ask him very cutely. Chanyeol couldn’t say no.

 

Next stop was Dervish & Bangs because the noise of magical instruments being fixed made him curious. Afterwards, it was Dominic Maestro’s because there was a quartet playing outside of it and then Spintwitches just so they could admire the newest Quidditch brooms in the market.

 

Baekhyun was looking quite tired and somewhat sleepy after all the places they went to so Chanyeol put an arm around his best friend and lead them to the Three Broomsticks Inn. Chanyeol got them each a mug of butterbeer, placing them on the table and taking a seat beside Baekhyun, who snuggles close to him, leaning his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Chanyeol sighs as he looks out of the window. The sun is almost setting, a signal that they should be heading back to Hogwarts soon.

 

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to do things you wanted to do,” Chanyeol apologizes quietly, pouting as he realizes how selfish he had been in his enthusiasm. He puts an arm around Baekhyun and squeezes his arm, pulling him in closer.

 

“It’s fine,” Baekhyun assures him, straightening up to smile at him. “I had fun.” Holding up the bag of Honeydukes candies and Zonko’s merchandise that they bought, he adds, “We’re going to have so much fun with these!”

 

Chanyeol beams back happily because he can always count on Baekhyun with anything. “We sure are!” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down as Yifan and Joonmyun place their drinks on the table and leave again to get their food.

 

Chanyeol tries to hold back in laughter as Baekhyun slips something in Joonmyun’s drink, muffling it behind his hands when Joonmyun comes back with Yifan, Kyungsoo and Jongin in tow.

 

“What’s wrong with you two?” Kyungsoo asks with a disgusted frown as they sit down across from Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

“Nothing,” Chanyeol blurts out loudly in the midst of a laugh.

 

Baekhyun bursts into giggles, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol’s waist and burying his face in his best friend’s neck as Joonmyun and Yifan exchange drinks. Yifan takes a big gulp of the butterbeer that they thought was Joonmyun’s.

 

“You should have just gone to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop if you wanted to be gross like this,” Jongin pointed out with a shudder.

 

“We’re not—” Baekhyun and Chanyeol start to chorus when Joonmyun leans towards Yifan with a confused frown on his face.

 

“Yifan, your cheeks are…” Joonmyun says, gently pressing a thumb on Yifan’s pink left cheek. This action just causes Yifan’s face to turn even pinker and Joonmyun’s mouth opens in surprise. “What’s… are you okay?”

 

“Yes,” Yifan squeaks, unconsciously batting his eyelashes at Joonmyun. It makes Joonmyun blush himself.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol just burst into more laughter, Chanyeol burying his face in Baekhyun’s hair. Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at them, just as Joonmyun frowns even further because Yifan is now shyly reaching out to hold his hand.

 

“Yifan is going to kill us,” Chanyeol announces joyously later on as they leave Three Broomsticks ahead of the others.

 

“He really will,” Baekhyun agrees with the same amount of fervor. “Who do you think will kill us first? Taeyeon or Yifan?”

 

Chanyeol practically howls in laughter. “Yifan, probably.”

 

“I bet Taeyeon will find it cute,” Baekhyun muses, rolling his eyes.

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol says, suddenly stopping. “Do you want to stop by the Shrieking Shack for a bit before we head back? Just so we can get over it already? We’ve been coming here for ages and we haven’t even seen it yet.”

 

Baekhyun warily eyes the darkening skies before looking at Chanyeol. He smiles bravely. “Let’s go!” he declares, tugging at Chanyeol’s hand and leading them towards the most frightening building in Britain, as everyone calls it.

 

They reach the abandoned house just as night falls. It’s now dark and eerie, the only lights coming from several lampposts a couple of feet away from the house. Baekhyun grips Chanyeol’s hand tighter than he normally would, but Chanyeol doesn’t notice because he’s looking at the house in fascination.

 

“Well, here we are,” Baekhyun announces, laughing nervously. They’re standing quite far away from the house, standing a couple of feet away from the fence surrounding it. “Nothing to see it seems.”

 

“Let’s go nearer,” Chanyeol decides, pulling Baekhyun, who is unable to put up much of a fight, with him.

 

Baekhyun gets dragged to the front door of the shack to his horror. He looks around and notices how much scarier it is up close and how much more eerie it is to be so far away from the rest of the village and the lights. Baekhyun bites his lip to hold back a whimper when Chanyeol raises a hand to knock. He really wishes that Chanyeol would be over his excitement already so they can leave and—

 

The door opens the second time Chanyeol knocks; opening more because of the force Chanyeol was knocking on it with than anything else. But Baekhyun screams and practically knocks Chanyeol over with the force of his hug to him. Chanyeol is surprised to discover that Baekhyun is shaking in his arms, realizing only then that Baekhyun does get scared so much easier than he does.

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol soothingly calls Baekhyun, rubbing his hand up and down Baekhyun’s back. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m here.”

 

Baekhyun’s grip around Chanyeol’s waist doesn’t even loosen for a bit. It’s ridiculous for him to be so scared of the Shrieking Shack now that everyone knows that it’s not really haunted, but somehow he just can’t help himself. He merely mumbles something unintelligible but was something along the lines of how he’s not going to let go ever because damn it if he gets scared and squeal like a girl again.

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol tries again, “look at me. C’mon.”

 

After a bit more of coaxing, Baekhyun gingerly lifts his head up to look at Chanyeol. His cheeks are flushed, sweat lining his forehead, and pupils dilated. Chanyeol lifts one hand from around Baekhyun’s waist so he can cup Baekhyun’s face.

 

“I swear to god, Park Chanyeol, if you make a joke out of this,” Baekhyun threatens, a shuddering running through his spine as he hears a creak from inside the house.

 

Chanyeol frowns, pausing for a bit as he seemingly thinks of what he’s going to say. “Would I let anything happen to you?” is what he decides to say. Baekhyun merely swallows. “What can I do to make you feel better?” He rubs his thumb on the apple of Baekhyun’s flush cheek.

 

“I…” Baekhyun’s eyes grudgingly move from Chanyeol’s eyes down to his lips and then back again. “We could get the hell out of here.”

 

“Okay,” Chanyeol agrees in a whisper.

 

But he doesn’t move. Neither does Baekhyun. They stand there, arms tangled in each other, as they stare into each other’s eyes. The air is suddenly charged with something that Chanyeol thinks has happened before, except he can’t be too sure. It feels like the logical thing to do would be for Chanyeol to lean forward and to close the gap between them. It looks like Baekhyun is waiting for him, but Chanyeol sees fear reflected in Baekhyun’s eyes. He decides not to do anything just as the sound of a twig snapping echoes in the distance, making Baekhyun jump.

 

“We should really get back,” Baekhyun says, clearing his throat and pulling away from Chanyeol. He stuffs his hands in his coat.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol replies. “We should.”

 

They don’t talk about what happened. They don’t even mention the Shrieking Shack ever again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baekhyun looks like he’s going to burst in happiness as soon as they step out of the hotel. His face is positively glowing with his broad smile and sparkling eyes. Chanyeol can’t help but mirror the grin on his face because there is nothing that can make him happier than seeing Baekhyun happy. Finally, Chanyeol is doing something right.

 

“What do we do first?” Baekhyun wants to know, clapping his hands together as he looks around. He looks like he wants to run everywhere with his arms open.

 

Chanyeol laughs at the sight and then looks at the map he brought with him. “Well, we can do all the things you’ve always wanted to do today,” he suggests.

 

“How would you know what I’ve always wanted to do?” Baekhyun wonders.

 

“Well,” Chanyeol laughs nervously. “I’ve made a list.”

 

Baekhyun peers at it and sees how the parchment is old and frayed at the edges. The date on top says 19th October 2009 with the title _Things that Baekhyun Says We Must Do When In London_ afterwards and then going on to the list. Baekhyun gapes at it and then at Chanyeol.

 

“You made this list _four_ years ago?” Except it’s not really a question and more like a statement of amazement.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol confirms, reaching up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It was important to you and I thought—anyway, if there’s anything that’s changed, we can always do that instead.”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head. “Nothing about my London plans have changed really,” he admits. “Except, well, I wouldn’t have come if you weren’t with me.” He coughs and bows his head to hide his reddening face.

 

Chanyeol can’t help but smile at that. Courageously, he puts an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders and walks him to the bus stop.

 

The first order of business was to ride around the city seated on the top deck of the reddest and shiniest double-decker bus they could find. Chanyeol lets Baekhyun sit on the inner seat so he can see the view of the streets of London better.

 

The bus goes around the city, following the red routed tour. They stop by all the famous sights of the city like the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, The London Dungeon, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, and even Madam Tussauds.

 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol take lots of pictures of the scenery. But most of the pictures taken are their faces, doing winks and wonky faces. Their camera almost falls off during their stop at the Big Ben because Baekhyun stands up, scaring Chanyeol enough to grab at Baekhyun’s jacket to keep him from falling off and causing the camera to slip from his grasp. Good thing that the strap is wrapped around Chanyeol’s wrist and doesn’t actually fall off.

 

They get off the bus at Buckingham Palace because Baekhyun wouldn’t let his chance of getting into a real castle (even though Chanyeol reminds him that they studied at Hogwarts _Castle_ ) and having a tour there. They get there just in time of changing of the guards and Baekhyun gapes in awe of how cool the whole thing is. Chanyeol takes a picture.

 

They then walk to Hyde Park, on the way of which Baekhyun sees the red phone booth he’s always been fascinated by. But it’s nothing to how Chanyeol looks so interested and curious about it. Chanyeol forgot for a moment that he was in the muggle world, so focused and satisfied on watching Baekhyun smiling and laughing and having fun. Baekhyun laughs at him and grabs the camera from his hand, saying that Chanyeol should have more pictures taken of him.

 

Hyde Park is pretty with all its greenery and with all the colorful flowers. There are lots of people milling about, families, friends, and couples walking hand-in-hand. There are teenagers on skateboards, people jogging and people biking.

 

“This is so amazing,” Baekhyun breathes in contentment as they walk beside the bicycle lane. He turns to Chanyeol. “It’s been an amazing day, Chanyeol.”

 

Chanyeol smiles, a bit shyly but gladly. “I’m glad,” he responds. “It has been fun.”

 

“I was right to want for us to come here.” Baekhyun looks pleased with himself, but Chanyeol hopes that the smile on his face is more because that Chanyeol is there with him. “I’m glad I’m here,” he tells Chanyeol sincerely. “And I’m glad you’re here with me.”

 

“Of course—” Chanyeol starts to say how it’s his pleasure to have come through on this very important promise for Baekhyun, despite how late it already is, but then he feels Baekhyun’s hand in his and he forgets his words. Baekhyun is determinedly looking straight ahead as he interlaces their fingers just like the other couples walking past them. They’ve gotten increasingly touchy throughout the whole day, something that continuously made Chanyeol’s heart flutter, but it was nothing as direct as this. “Of course,” Chanyeol says when he finds his voice. “I’m happy we’re here, too.”

 

They’re quiet for a while. Chanyeol is suddenly unsure how to proceed what with him and Baekhyun holding each other’s hand. It’s not like they haven’t held each other’s hands before—they have, but somehow, this time feels different. Chanyeol knows very clearly in his mind that he’s hopelessly in love with Baekhyun and that _this_ —Baekhyun initiating holding his hand—isn’t doing him good in terms of hoping for something more. But he can’t let that get in the way of things. Their friendship has just gotten back on track and Chanyeol would be damned if he did anything to screw it up.

 

“What are we going to do tomorrow?” Baekhyun breaks the silence, squeezing Chanyeol’s hand lightly. “We’ve done the whole tour today, but I don’t want our last day to go to waste.”

 

“Well, I—I have something planned for tomorrow,” Chanyeol tells him. “It’s not on the list, but—”

 

“Sure,” Baekhyun immediately agrees. “We did something I liked today. It’s just right that we do something you like tomorrow.”

 

Baekhyun is smiling at Chanyeol so stunningly that Chanyeol wants to stop and kiss him right there, in the middle of Hyde Park, where everyone can see how amazing Byun Baekhyun is and how much Park Chanyeol loves him.

 

“Chanyeol?”

 

Chanyeol blinks and sees Baekhyun watching him uncertainly. “Yeah,” he chuckles. “Tomorrow will be fun, too.”

 

“I can’t wait!” Baekhyun practically squeals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing they did the next day was to sleep in because they had slept rather late the night before. After having a rather large dinner, Chanyeol invited Baekhyun to hang out in the balcony of their hotel room and talk over wine.

 

It was rather refreshing, two old friends talking to each other, sharing stories of their Hogwarts days, laughing about the antics they did and how fun and simple everything was back then. Chanyeol thinks everything was easy when they were younger because Baekhyun was around. Every moment of his younger years had a trace of Baekhyun in it and Chanyeol found that it was a perfect as it could be because of Baekhyun’s presence.

 

Now, he thinks that his life is becoming easier again. The past two years of his life waking up each day to realize over and over again that Baekhyun isn’t around was a constant source of pain and melancholy. He had tears in his eyes every so often because he wanted to understand what he did wrong to warrant such a sentence. It was hard and everyday was a struggle. But then he and Baekhyun saw each other again, albeit accidentally, in that small convenience store and everything was immediately better. Sometimes it was as if the past two years hadn’t happened.

 

Baekhyun stirs, the sheets ruffling as he shifts around and slowly opens his eyes. Chanyeol is sitting at the edge of the bed, already showered, looking at him.

 

“You creep,” Baekhyun drowsily snaps. “Have you been watching me sleep?”

 

“You drool a lot more than you used to,” Chanyeol comments.

 

“Well you snore a lot louder than before,” Baekhyun retorts, closing his eyes again. “What time is it?”

 

“Almost noon,” Chanyeol answers. He plays with the edge of the blanket as Baekhyun gives him a startled look. “I was thinking that we could go have brunch at the Chelsea Harbour and then maybe watch a movie.”

 

Baekhyun sits up and laughs, rubbing his eyes. “Brunch and a movie? Sounds like first date stuff.” He’d meant it to be teasing but after hearing the way it sounded, he laughs awkwardly and gets out of bed. “I’m going to take a shower,” he mumbles before closing the door behind him.

 

_First date stuff._ Well if that’s how Baekhyun sees it, then maybe it can be. Chanyeol can’t help but let hope swell in his heart. It’s going to be a first date that Baekhyun will remember for a long time.

 

The Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour Hotel is more impressive than Chanyeol expected. They are served a welcome cocktail as soon as they get seated by the window, with a view overlooking the water. The menu is then handed to them afterwards with special recommendations from the server assigned to them.

 

They eat a variety of breads and salads with different kinds of eggs and it is such a colorful and lively meal that Baekhyun and Chanyeol exchange stories even more animatedly than before. Baekhyun reaches for Chanyeol’s hand across the table a couple of times throughout the meal, seemingly unconscious that he was doing it. All Chanyeol could do was squeeze back when Baekhyun did so.

 

“That was an amazing meal!” Baekhyun gushes as they get into a cab that would take them to their next destination. He leans his head on Chanyeol’s chest, closing his eyes. “I’m pretty full that I feel sleepy.” Chanyeol pats his knee, assuring, and chuckles. “What if I fall asleep during the movie? That would be a waste.”

 

Baekhyun doesn’t fall asleep during the movie due to the same reason Chanyeol isn’t really breathing in his seat.

 

They’re watching a French film entitled _Blue is the Warmest Colour_ and it is pretty exciting in and of itself if only for the reason that there are a lot of sex scenes between the two leading ladies. But then Chanyeol has daringly found Baekhyun’s hand in the dark and their fingers are touching, dancing with each other’s.

 

Chanyeol doesn’t dare move or even just flinch for fear of breaking the moment. His eyes are trained on the big screen but he’s not really seeing what’s on it. He can’t, not when Baekhyun is now leaning towards him, their fingers now interlaced the way they did back in Hyde Park. Chanyeol can feel Baekhyun’s breath on his neck and he’s so afraid that Baekhyun will hear how fast and how hard his heart is beating inside his chest.

 

This isn’t really what he had in mind when he planned to watch the movie at the Brixton Ritzy. He’d heard that that was one of the best places to have a date, but he didn’t think that he and Baekhyun would end up even remotely in a date-like situation. This—holding Baekhyun’s hand, with Baekhyun’s head on his shoulder—is more than he could ever have expected.

 

“Well that was…” Baekhyun shyly speaks as they walk out of the cinema.

 

“Yeah.” Chanyeol swallows so hard that his Adam’s apple bobs heavily up and down his throat.

 

“I liked… the movie,” Baekhyun goes on.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes watch in fascination as Baekhyun’s hand flinches towards him before Baekhyun snatches it back to his side. Chanyeol takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes shut tightly for a second as he grabs Baekhyun’s hand and clutches onto it as they walk towards the road to hail a cab.

 

“Me too,” Chanyeol doesn’t forget to say. “I liked it, too.”

 

Baekhyun smiles.

 

Baekhyun’s smile doesn’t stay long on his face, though. When he sees that they’re at the London Eye, his face breaks out into a grin because, well, it’s the London Eye and it’s romantic. Except Chanyeol steers them away from it and heads towards the dock of the Thames.

 

Baekhyun’s eyes are so wide that it would have been comical had Chanyeol not thought laughing at someone else’s, much more Baekhyun’s, fear is horrible.

 

“I am _not_ going onto a speedboat and—Chanyeol—” Baekhyun’s screeching gets cut off when Chanyeol fits a life vest over his head.

 

“It’s going to be fun,” Chanyeol declares determinedly and excitedly. When Baekhyun continues to frown, he teases, knowing that Baekhyun would have no choice but to do things his way, “Hey, we do what I like this time, right?”

 

Baekhyun grumbles as they get on the boat. “You like the dumbest things,” he grits through his teeth even when Chanyeol secures him to his side.

 

Fifty minutes later, Chanyeol helps a pretty drenched Baekhyun out of the speedboat and onto the dock. Baekhyun looks a bit green and Chanyeol probably would be too if he wasn’t so thrilled about the whole thing. Thirty-five knots is no joke after all.

 

“I hate you,” Baekhyun tells Chanyeol as soon as they’ve changed into dry shirts that they bought at a souvenir shop nearby. “I don’t know how you can think anything like that is fun. Don’t even think of us going on the London Eye or I’m going to throw up on you.”

 

“It was fun,” Chanyeol insists as he hails a cab. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Baek, and something that not everyone does in London. We’ve done the normal touristy things yesterday and now we’re doing something we wouldn’t normally do! It’s great, right?”

 

“Right,” Baekhyun scoffs, leaning into Chanyeol as they wait for a cab. “I’m glad the day is almost over. Just dinner now, right?”

 

Chanyeol merely smiles, rather worriedly. All throughout dinner he keeps shifting on his seat because he’s pretty afraid about what Baekhyun would do to him when he finds out what he had planned for them to do after eating. If Baekhyun notices, he doesn’t say anything and just continues chatting on excitedly about being in London, his anger with Chanyeol and the speedboat tour seemingly forgotten.

 

They end up walking after dinner, Baekhyun patting his tummy in a very satisfied manner that makes Chanyeol laugh. Baekhyun has his other arm around Chanyeol’s waist, leaning against him in the manner that he’s been doing the whole day. If Chanyeol allows himself to really think about it, he would think that Baekhyun was warming up to him as more than just a best friend. But Chanyeol does not want to think about it because what if it’s just because of something in the London air? What if it’s just Baekhyun’s way of making up for the 730 days of his absence? If that’s the case, Chanyeol should be doing a whole lot more.

 

Still, Baekhyun being so touchy does confuse Chanyeol. Baekhyun has never ever given an indication before that he might have feelings of more than a friend towards Chanyeol. Chanyeol knows he’s been obvious more than once, but Baekhyun has never really responded to it. So he’s never truly pursued it. This time, though, Chanyeol wonders if this is a sign for him to start doing so.

 

“Hey, where are we?” Baekhyun asks, moving out of Chanyeol’s embrace, linking their fingers together instead as he looks around.

 

The lighting in the alley that they’ve stopped at is muted, definitely dimmer than the others they’ve passed by, that Baekhyun kind of has to squint to check if there’s anyone else in the alley. A gust of wind blows and Baekhyun shivers, clutching Chanyeol’s hand tighter.

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol cautiously says, as they near the small group at the end of the alley, “don’t get mad…”

 

“What did you do? What is it this time?” Baekhyun suspiciously asks, looking at the group of people seemingly waiting with something like apprehension.

 

“I… signed us up for a… walking tour,” Chanyeol tries to explain, laughing a little nervously. “I thought it was a good idea because, you know, it’s nice to do something different when you’re visiting a place for the first time and I thought—”

 

“You’re babbling,” Baekhyun teases him, chuckling a little. “Well I don’t see anything wrong with a walking tour.” He shrugs and even skips as they near the group.

 

Chanyeol laughs uneasily, hoping against all hope that Baekhyun won’t hate him after he finds out that—Baekhyun grips Chanyeol’s hand so tightly, his nails burying themselves in Chanyeol’s skin, when the tour guide arrives and welcomes everyone to the _Haunted London Walking Tour._ Chanyeol didn’t sign them up because he knows Baekhyun is easily scared. He just really thought that it was interesting. Besides, how scary could it be with a group of people around?

 

It turns out to be creepier than Chanyeol expected. There are stories of ghost sightings in famous and not so famous buildings that no one would even think twice to be haunted. The tour guide expertly relays stories of murders and accidents that have created the ghostly aura that he now notices surround the city at night. There are widely populated streets that have been changed in Chanyeol’s mind forever. He shudders as the tour guide ends another spine-tingling tale, turning to Baekhyun. But Baekhyun ignores Chanyeol and merely stares at his feet, hand still clenched with Chanyeol’s.

 

Surprisingly, Baekhyun hadn’t done anything else aside from injuring his hand. Baekhyun doesn’t even so much as mutter an angry insult at him or even throw him another one of his piercing glares. Maybe Baekhyun has grown out of being easily scared, which makes Chanyeol curious as to how he did it. Even so, despite the lack of angry responses, Baekhyun hasn’t spoken to him much either since the tour started.

 

“Hey Baekhyun,” Chanyeol starts, nudging him gently.

 

Baekhyun shushes him. “I’m trying to listen.”

 

And that was that. They don’t speak a word throughout the whole tour, leaving Chanyeol to be hyperaware and be hypersensitive to the way Baekhyun is pressing against him, how Baekhyun’s grip on his hand is firm and adamant, how Baekhyun’s gaze on the tour guide is so intent that Chanyeol wonders how the guide hasn’t melted yet.

 

The tour takes almost two hours, therefore, making Chanyeol almost suffer with Baekhyun so near him and with the thoughts in his head for the same amount of time. Chanyeol untangles his hand with Baekhyun when he decides to go to the bathroom after the tour. Baekhyun frowns but lets go.

 

“Ready to go back to the hotel?” Chanyeol asks when he comes back out. Baekhyun nods without a word.

 

They walk side by side for a bit, their hands only brushing against each other. Chanyeol blows out a breath before picking out options on how to break the silence. However, Baekhyun gets to it first.

 

“Did you have fun?” Baekhyun asks, pocketing his freezing hands.

 

“Yeah!” is Chanyeol’s enthusiastic answer and goes on to recount all the stories that gave him chills. His laughter echoes into the night, making Baekhyun smile.

 

“I’m glad,” Baekhyun says with a soft sigh, stiffening to fight back the quiver that’s threatening to wrack through his body.

 

“Are you cold?” Chanyeol takes off his coat, not feeling cold anyway, and puts it around Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he demands, putting his arm around Baekhyun as well.

 

“I’m not cold,” Baekhyun denies. Chanyeol makes a face that Baekhyun doesn’t see when Baekhyun shudders again.

 

“You are obviously,” Chanyeol insists as a whimper escapes Baekhyun’s lips when he trembles once more. “It’s not even that cold—“ He stops in his tracks, a frown marring his handsome face.

 

“Chanyeol, what is it?” Baekhyun asks, stopping as well. He looks around nervously, which Chanyeol thinks is a confirmation of what’s going on. “What’s wrong?”

 

Chanyeol faces him and tilts Baekhyun’s face towards him. Baekhyun’s pupils are blown, his cheeks are pink, and his forehead is lined with cold sweat. A wave of unease passes through him and he grips Baekhyun’s arms tightly.

 

“You’re not cold,” Chanyeol states angrily. “You’re—”

 

“I’m fine,” Baekhyun insists. He tugs Chanyeol’s arm so they can continue walking. “Let’s just go back to the hotel.” Chanyeol doesn’t give in and stops to make Baekhyun face him again. “Chanyeol, this is really unnecessary,” he repeats firmly. “It was just a stupid walk.”

 

“And if you had told me you didn’t like it, we would have left,” Chanyeol asserts. He runs a hand through his hair as he sighs angrily at himself. The haunted walk was supposed to be fun. He thought it was unique and interesting when he’d come across it and thought it could be something they could laugh about. He didn’t realize that it could actually be really scary.

 

“Don’t be silly,” Baekhyun scoffs. He takes off Chanyeol’s jacket and makes him wear it again. “You were having fun,” he simply says like that explains everything as he fixes the collar of the coat.

 

There are things that people don’t see because they are too close to see it. Chanyeol and Baekhyun have been friends for years and years and yet Chanyeol’s never really seen how fond Baekhyun is of him. But with the way Baekhyun is being affectionate right now, the way he reined his fear in just because it was something that Chanyeol wanted to do, Chanyeol suddenly sees it so clearly, and he wonders if maybe he’s missed other signs along the way.

 

Chanyeol grabs Baekhyun and hugs him. Baekhyun yelps in surprise but Chanyeol doesn’t care. He truly is fine with Baekhyun only seeing him as a friend. But if there’s a chance, even just a sliver, that might indicate that they could be something more, he’s going to take it.

 

“You are smothering me,” Baekhyun mumbles through his shirt.

 

Chanyeol pulls back a little. He cups Baekhyun face, his thumbs lightly grazing his cheeks that pink at the touch. “You know I would never intentionally hurt you, right? I didn’t sign us up just so you’d—”

 

“I know, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun interrupts him, eyelashes fluttering at the sensation of Chanyeol’s thumbs on his face.

 

“I just… it’s made you scared. I’ve made you scared,” Chanyeol maintains regretfully. His eyes fall on Baekhyun’s lips, pink and slightly chapped. “What can I do to make it go away?”

 

That charged air is back between them, except this time it’s more suffocating, more intense than before. Chanyeol can feel the energy thrumming under his fingertips and speculates on what it could mean. He meets Baekhyun’s gaze and sees that Baekhyun is looking at his lips before he veers away to look at Chanyeol’s eyes instead. Baekhyun’s eyes widen when he realizes that he’s been caught.

 

“I think…” Baekhyun’s breath hitches when Chanyeol dips his head ever so slowly towards him. “We should… go back to the hotel.” His hands are gripping the sides of Chanyeol’s coat.

 

“We should,” Chanyeol agrees, head dipping even further until such that their noses are touching each other’s.

 

Baekhyun’s shallow breaths fan his chin and Chanyeol’s eyes flutter shut. His lips are already tingling from the anticipation.

 

There is no turning back if Chanyeol does decide to kiss Baekhyun. Whatever the consequences, whatever happens, he will stand by his decision. There is nothing worse than not knowing what could have been because he didn’t act on it. In taking the proactive approach, Chanyeol hopes he’s going to gain something instead of losing.

 

Chanyeol goes for it.

 

As their lips touch, Baekhyun lets out a whimper the same time that Chanyeol groans. There are some three seconds of just pressing of lips with Chanyeol having an internal panic as to how to proceed. Does he move his lips? Does he turn away? What if Baekhyun gets upset and—?”

 

But then Baekhyun moves _his_ lips, shocking Chanyeol to the tips of his toes. Baekhyun’s hands move to clutch the front of his shirt and Chanyeol places his hand on the back of Baekhyun’s head, the other sliding to his back. They press closer to each other, their lips familiarizing themselves with this new but wonderful sensation.

 

There is an upheaval inside of Chanyeol that is screaming about the shock that Baekhyun is kissing him back. Baekhyun is kissing him and Chanyeol is dumbfounded as to how he might have missed any sign of Baekhyun wanting to do this in the past. All those years that they could have… But he couldn’t think like that, not when Baekhyun is in his arms _kissing him_.

 

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun pulls away, his voice raspy.

 

“Yeah,” Chanyeol replies, voice equally hoarse.

 

“Is this what you meant… about us not doing things we wouldn’t normally do?” Baekhyun asks in wonderment.

 

“Maybe,” Chanyeol replies with a small smile, pressing their lips together once more.

 

Baekhyun smiles shyly, looking down at his shoes before meeting Chanyeol’s gaze again. “I… I think I’m not so afraid anymore,” he tells him.

 

What Baekhyun truly means by that statement Chanyeol isn’t really sure, but maybe, it’s the same for him, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol normally doesn’t like it when a vacation ends. He remembers feeling torn when his family vacation in Switzerland after graduation finally ended after a two-month stay. There was that feeling of not wanting to go back to reality after settling into what seemed like dreamland, a place where one didn’t have to worry about work and responsibilities. But there was also that feeling of wanting to go back because Baekhyun was in reality. And then, of course, things hadn’t gone so well after that. But now, as he looks at Baekhyun staring in awe at the scenery that’s passing by the cab window, he isn’t sure whether this means he’s going to reality from dreamland or whether this _is_ actually reality and he needn’t worry about anything.

 

They haven’t talked about the kiss. What they’ve done however is snuggle in bed before they slept and cuddle when they woke up that morning. Maybe Baekhyun thinks they don’t need to talk about it, but for Chanyeol, who’s loved Baekhyun quietly all these years, he thinks this is one time he needs to speak up. However, he doesn’t want to push Baekhyun.

 

The cab driver suddenly speaks up about the London Eye, about how it’s the symbol of London, like how the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. He adds that it’s the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom and that it has been featured in a big number of films, shows, games, among other forms of popular culture.

 

Baekhyun merely sighs, smiling a little.

 

Suddenly, Chanyeol is stopping the cab and telling him to pull over because there is something they’ve forgotten to do.

 

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol in surprise when he purchases two tickets to the London Eye.

 

“Chanyeol, we need to get back,” Baekhyun reminds him as they get into a capsule with a few other passengers, looking torn between being practical and the thought that _they’re riding the London Eye_.

 

“What’s a couple of minutes of delay?” Chanyeol beams at him, taking his hand and squeezing it. “I made a mistake not coming here the other day. If there’s one thing we shouldn’t miss in London, it’s this.”

 

“It’s just a Ferris Wheel,” Baekhyun states nonchalantly, but Chanyeol thinks he sounds breathless with awe as they reach the top.

 

There’s the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, the Charring Cross railway station and the Waterloo railway station in perfect panoramic view. Baekhyun is practically pressing his face on the glass as he ogles the height that they’re in.

 

“It feels like we’re floating in the sky, with the clouds,” Baekhyun quips elatedly.

 

“We are,” Chanyeol confirms as he tilts Baekhyun’s face towards him.

 

Baekhyun giggles his agreement when Chanyeol finally kisses him again.

 

Chanyeol can’t help but think that this is the perfect culmination of something that he hopes isn’t just a dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parties are fun. There is always free food and an endless flow of alcoholic drinks, although Chanyeol and his friends still aren’t allow since they are technically still in school. But Park family parties seem almost stifling to Chanyeol. His mother keeps requiring him to stand by her side to greet and talk to the guests. What she normally does is recount his achievements and fawn over him while the guests agree and join in the fawning. It’s the exactly his idea of a good party.

 

The ceilings and walls are draped with predominantly emerald hangings because both his parents were Slytherins when they were at Hogwarts and are both very proud of it. There is a hint of red on the edges of the hangings, though, probably to acknowledge the fact that Chanyeol is a Gryffindor. There is a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling, emitting sparkling light every so often that turns out to be real fairies when one looks closely. Music echoes all over the grand ballroom, coming from Celestina Warbeck, who’s situated on the stage on the far end of the room.

 

Guests consisted of ministry officials, a number of elderly warlocks, as well as famous celebrities in the wizarding community. The Parks has always liked to show off the extent of their power.

 

Chanyeol looks around, bored with his mother’s conversation with her friends, and spies Joonmyun and Baekhyun by the buffet table, where several house-elves seem to be nicking some of the cookies for themselves. He smirks and hurriedly excuses himself from the group, despite his mother’s frown, and makes his way across the room towards Baekhyun, who’s laughing at something with Joonmyun.

 

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol demands, putting an arm around Baekhyun and looking between the two of his friends. It doesn’t seem fair that he’s the only one who’s not having fun.

 

“Jongin,” Joonmyun tells him, nodding across the hall to where Jongin is standing, face a deep red, in front of an amused girl, who Chanyeol recognizes as Krystal from the Slytherin house.

 

“So he’s finally done it, huh,” Chanyeol chuckles. He wraps both his arms around Baekhyun, pressing him close to his chest, his chin over Baekhyun’s shoulder as Baekhyun feeds him a pumpkin tart.

 

“Yes, he has,” Joonmyun answers, an amused look on his own face as he eyes Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 

“Better now than tomorrow,” Baekhyun shares, making a face when Chanyeol opens his mouth for another tart.

 

“Can you believe that we’re graduating?” Chanyeol says, sounding amazed himself. Seven years of their lives they spent in Hogwarts. He’s pretty sure it’s not just him who’s wondering how it’s going to be like when they go into the real world.

 

“I’m pretty sure maturity is beneath you,” Baekhyun mutters but they hear him anyway and Joonmyun laughs in that way that makes Taeyeon look away from him because he’s just that ugly when he laughs. (“Crying is worse,” Jongin would always say.)

 

“Hey,” Chanyeol bops Baekhyun on the head lightly.

 

Baekhyun laughs. “Anyway, Krystal has been scouted by the Holyhead Harpies. I think she’s leaving for training camp tomorrow.”

 

“Before graduation?” Joonmyun frowns.

 

Baekhyun shrugs, popping another tart in Chanyeol’s mouth. “Krystal is a good chaser, but I hear people talking that the Harpies coach thinks she can be great. Like superstar great.”

 

“Wow,” Joonmyun says.

 

“Well I think that’s heartbreaking,” Chanyeol comments. “His timing is just impeccable. Why would Krystal want to go out with him when she has her career to think about? Krystal’s probably going to slap him and walk away.”

 

“Not quite,” Joonmyun corrects him, smiling.

 

Krystal has just pulled Jongin into a kiss before slapping him and then kissing him again. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Joonmyun exchange a shocked look before bursting into laughter.

 

“Well, what do you know,” Baekhyun remarks in wonder. “Certain dreams do come true.” He grins wider when Jongin and Krystal start dancing, her arms daintily placed around Jongin’s neck.

 

They’re in the middle of dubbing the conversation that Jongin and Krystal are having while dancing when Mrs. Park joins their little group.

 

“Hey mom,” Chanyeol greets, not bothering to untangle his arms around Baekhyun’s waist. “What’s up?”

 

Mrs. Park smiles a little wryly at Chanyeol, her eyes flitting down to where they’re attached before lifting back up to Chanyeol’s face. “I was wondering if you boys could help me with finding the guestbook. I can’t seem to find it when it’s supposedly just by the door,” she asks.

 

“Sure thing,” Chanyeol agrees, finally letting go of Baekhyun. Joonmyun nods in agreement, while Baekhyun places his now empty plate of tarts on the buffet table.

 

Chanyeol slips an arm around Joonmyun’s shoulder and tugs him towards the entrance so they could start looking there. When he reaches to his other side to grab for Baekhyun’s hand, he finds that Baekhyun isn’t there. He turns back with a frown and sees his mom talking to Baekhyun. They’re both smiling at something so Chanyeol merely shrugs and continues to look for the guestbook.

 

But when Chanyeol comes to find him again, Yifan tells him that Baekhyun had left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You can’t not eat at your party,” Baekhyun chides Chanyeol as he refuses to get food from the buffet. He grabs a clean plate and all but shoves it in Chanyeol’s hands.

 

“I’m not hungry,” Chanyeol whines like a child but takes the plate anyway.

 

“You have to eat,” Baekhyun insists, putting a small lump of pasta on his own plate. “It’s going to be a long night. You’re going to be talking to your guests and who knows how long that would take? You will get hungry.” He places to chicken legs on Chanyeol’s plate when Chanyeol doesn’t move to do anything.

 

“But you’ll be with me, right?” Chanyeol asks, obediently putting what food he can eat on his plate. “I mean, when I greet the guests and everything.”

 

“You’re so clingy, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but there’s a pink tint on his cheeks.

 

“You like me clingy,” Chanyeol says in a singsong voice, planting a quick kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek, making them pinker.

 

“You’re lucky I like you at all,” Baekhyun snaps, turning away so Chanyeol can’t see the blush that’s spread to his neck.

 

“The luckiest!” Chanyeol happily declares. “I’m really—”

 

“Chanyeol, dear.” Mrs. Park looks like she hasn’t aged the slightest. It almost feels like she looks exactly the same from the last time Baekhyun had seen her.

 

“Mom!” Chanyeol grins, placing his plate on the buffet table so he can properly wrap an arm around Baekhyun, who stiffens in the slightest of movements, and present him to her. “Look who’s back!”

 

Mrs. Park looks slightly taken aback at seeing Baekhyun but she smiles genially. “Baekhyun, how good it is to see you again,” she greets. Baekhyun bows respectfully and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

 

“You’ll be seeing a lot more of him.” Chanyeol wiggles his eyebrows up and down as he links their fingers together. Baekhyun gives him a fond smile.

 

“That’s nice, dear,” Mrs. Park says with a small laugh. She looks at Baekhyun. “Congratulations.”

 

Chanyeol looks from his mother to Baekhyun and is curious as to why he feels a certain tension between the two of them. His family has always liked Baekhyun, always inviting him to the house during semester breaks, like Christmas and summer. Somewhere along the way though, Baekhyun drifted away from Chanyeol’s family and spending time with them, always wanting Chanyeol to spend breaks with him at his muggle home or at his uncle’s.

 

“I’ll bring our food to the table,” Baekhyun interrupts Chanyeol’s musings, carrying the two plates of food. “You can bring the drinks when you get back.” He smiles once more at Mrs. Park before making his way to the table they were occupying with their friends.

 

Chanyeol watches his walk away curiously before he turns his attention to his mother, who links her arm with his and elegantly takes him to where a relative of theirs from Scotland is sitting, waiting to talk to him.

 

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asks as he comes back to the table with only Joonmyun, Taeyeon, Jongin, and Krystal on the table. It’s taken him a while to get away from relatives but he begged off from his mom, saying he needed to eat. Their plates are on the table but there’s no Baekhyun. He doesn’t even notice that Yifan and Kyungsoo also aren’t there. He places the drinks that he got from the bar on the table and takes a seat.

 

“He left with Yifan,” Taeyeon helpfully answers. Joonmyun smiles at her as he interlaces their fingers together. “They’ve only left just now. Happy birthday, by the way! This is a really nice party.”

 

The ballroom is covered in sparkling red material from the ceiling to the walls. There are several chandeliers and every so often fireworks would erupt, sprinkling pretty red and gold dust on everyone. Chanyeol’s favorite band, the Weird Sisters, are playing all of Chanyeol’s favorite songs from the band and gathering a group of people standing by the stage to rock to them.

 

“There is too much booze, though,” Jongin comments. “Aren’t you going to serve anything aside from Firewhiskey? Because not everyone drinks at a party, you know.”

 

“Are you feeling sleepy already, Jongin?” Krystal innocently asks, a hand on his boyfriend’s lap.

 

“No,” Jongin mutters, fighting back a yawn and taking a swig of the Turnip wine that Chanyeol brought that was supposedly for Baekhyun.

 

“What’s up with you and Baekhyun anyway?” Joonmyun asks.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes flit to Joonmyun and then to the others, who were also waiting for an answer expectantly. He supposes it just makes sense for them to ask. He and Baekhyun haven’t exactly had the need to hide their _newly found_ affections for each other a secret so, of course, people would notice. Just the other day at work, he’s had several co-workers ask him about Baekhyun, who had visited to bring him some lunch. Both Kyungsoo and Joonmyun had raised an eyebrow as they were finishing their meeting when Baekhyun had arrived, kissing on the lips in greeting, but hadn’t really said anything. And now they’ve arrived at the party holding each other’s hands.

 

“We’re dating, I think,” Chanyeol answers.

 

“You think?” Jongin snickers as Taeyeon and Krystal both smile in fondness.

 

They haven’t really talked about _them_ yet. All they know is that they definitely have feelings for each other and that this is new for the both of them and that they should take it one day at a time.  Chanyeol isn’t really keen on the taking things one day at a time, as he has been doing the same thing with his unrequited feelings back then. All he really wants to do is to run out into the streets and yell to the world that Byun Baekhyun is his, finally. _Finally._ He can’t really do that, though, especially when he feels that there’s still something that’s holding Baekhyun back.

 

Kyungsoo suddenly appears, hurriedly slipping into the seat beside Chanyeol. He looks worried.

 

“What’s wrong?” Joonmyun immediately asks.

 

Kyungsoo looks at Chanyeol. “It’s Baekhyun,” he says and Chanyeol straightens up. “He’s having a bit of a… heated discussion with your mother outside.”

 

“What?” Chanyeol is off his seat at once and hurries outside, followed by Kyungsoo, Joonmyun and Jongin.

 

Mrs. Park and Baekhyun standing in front of each other and talking would seem normal enough if not for their slightly raised voices, Mrs. Park pointing an accusatory finger at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun’s defensive stance.

 

Chanyeol catches words like “not only my choice”, and “not your decision” as Baekhyun speaks in a very controlled manner. It was obvious he was doing his best not to raise his voice and be disrespectful and Chanyeol can understand that. What he doesn’t understand is why his mother and his best friend slash boyfriend are having a go at each other?

 

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol interrupts, his voice sterner than he intended it to be.

 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun starts, but Mrs. Park interrupts.

 

“Chanyeol, please talk to your _friend_ about creating a _scene_ ,” she barks harshly before sashaying angrily back to the party. She shoos several onlookers and grabs at flute of wine before disappearing into the crowd.

 

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol cups a hand on Baekhyun’s face, seemingly concerned when he sees Baekhyun’s eyes wet. “What happened? Why were you fighting with my mom?”

 

“I wasn’t—we weren’t,” Baekhyun tries to explain, looking up, noticing that their friends had made their way back to the party, probably to give them privacy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to create a scene.” His voice drips with sarcasm and Chanyeol frowns.

 

“I’m really confused,” Chanyeol admits. “I—you and my mom were practically yelling at each other. What is it that she thinks you did?” He sighs when Baekhyun doesn’t answer. “Well, whatever it is,” he soothes, rubbing a hand up and down Baekhyun’s arm, “I’m sure a simple apology will suffice.”

 

Baekhyun flinches at this and steps away from Chanyeol’s hold. “I am not going to apologize to her,” he firmly asserts. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

“Well she obviously thought—”

 

“Well she’s wrong,” Baekhyun snaps. “It wouldn’t be the first time, too!”

 

“Hey, that’s my mother you’re talking about,” Chanyeol retorts defensively. “She may be annoying sometimes, but I’ve come to find she’s right about most things. She always only wants what’s best, especially when it comes to me, so don’t disrespect her by talking about her like that in front of me.”

 

Baekhyun looks like he’s been slapped. He stands there, hands limp at his sides, as Chanyeol breathes heavily, a rush of adrenaline going through him because of his words. He reaches for Baekhyun but he dodges Chanyeol’s hand and takes a couple of steps back. He’s shaking his head and suddenly Chanyeol is afraid.

 

“Baekhyun, wait!” Chanyeol reaches out to grab his wrist but Baekhyun has disapparated already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol enters Three Broomsticks with a flourish, hurriedly searching for his friends. When he finds them, he practically skips over and almost sits on a shocked Kyungsoo. Jongin jumps a mile high when Chanyeol does.

 

“Hey!” Chanyeol greets happily, wrapping an arm around Kyungsoo and hugging him. “I’ve missed you guys.”

 

“Welcome back,” Joonmyun chuckles, taping a sip of his butterbeer. “How was Switzerland?”

 

“Cold,” Chanyeol replies. He looks around and frowns. “Where’s Baekhyun? Is he going to be late?” Baekhyun is rarely ever late, though. There must have been an emergency of some sort. Chanyeol wouldn’t really know, though, as he and Baekhyun haven’t spoken in two months.

 

“We were going to ask you about that,” Yifan speaks up when the table turns quiet. “We haven’t really seen Baekhyun and we were wondering if you have.”

 

“What?” Chanyeol blurts out in surprise. “What do you mean you haven’t seen him? You guys have all been here in Britain together and I’ve been away to Switzerland and you’re asking me if _I’ve_ seen him?”

 

“Chanyeol, calm down,” Kyungsoo starts but Chanyeol can’t calm down.

 

Something had been nagging at him the moment he left for Switzerland without being given the chance to say goodbye to Baekhyun. And then Baekhyun not answering any of his letters a week into vacation added to the fire. Baekhyun’s never ignored any of his letters before. They rarely wrote each other letters because they were always together and he figured that Baekhyun was mad at him for the sudden change of their plans. But he didn’t think it warranted two months of not talking.

 

“So you really haven’t seen him, haven’t heard from him?” Chanyeol asks slowly.

 

“You haven’t either?” Joonmyun looks surprised.

 

“I’ll look for him,” Chanyeol promises, standing up to leave for Florean Fortescue’s. “I’ll find him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol practically unhinges the door of Florean Fortescue’s when he opens it, stalking towards the counter without so much as a care to the patrons in the shop. Jongdae is startled when he looks up from the cashier and sees him.

 

“Where is he?” Chanyeol demands.

 

“What—?” Jongdae starts.

 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol says, cutting to the chase. “Where is Baekhyun?”

 

“He’s not—” Jongdae tries to explain.

 

“I’ve been to his house, to both of his houses and have talked to his uncle,” Chanyeol interrupts sharply. “I _know_ he’s here today. As a matter of fact, I’m sure he’s here today.”

 

He’d gone to the ice cream shop the past couple of days with no luck. For a minute, he was afraid that Chanyeol was going to lose Baekhyun like that again, but when he’d chanced upon Baekhyun’s uncle, he’d been assured that Baekhyun was still in the city.

 

“Chanyeol, I can’t just—” Jongdae apologetically says, but then the door to the kitchen opens and Sehun steps out.

 

“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol gapes at him.

 

“Baekhyun is inside,” Sehun simply tells him, stepping aside for him, and Chanyeol can’t figure out whether he wanted to be mad at Sehun or be happy that Baekhyun really is here so they could finally talk.

 

Chanyeol decides on the latter and walks into the kitchen. Baekhyun is standing on the other end, hands on the counter, head slightly hung low. The kitchen is immaculately clean today and Chanyeol just knows that Baekhyun probably cleaned everything because he couldn’t work properly. He’s probably still angry.

 

“What the hell is Sehun doing here?” Chanyeol demands.

 

“He’s my friend,” Baekhyun tiredly answers. “We’ve been friends since Hogwarts, you know that.”

 

“Did you _date_ him?” Chanyeol questions and Baekhyun’s eyes sharply train on him.

 

“How dare you think you have a right to ask me that,” Baekhyun replies angrily. “Sehun is my _friend_. He’s been my friend for the past two years when you weren’t around.”

 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol starts, brows furrowing. “About that—”

 

“Let me speak first,” Baekhyun says, raising a hand up to stop him. Chanyeol closes his mouth. “For the record, I wasn’t ignoring you, not really,” he explains. “I just really needed time to think.”

 

“About what?” Chanyeol asks, confused. “We fought about my mom, I don’t think it should have resorted to this.” He gestures around helplessly.

 

Baekhyun laughs a little, but it’s the farthest from happy. “You don’t understand,” he says.

 

“No, it’s _you_ who doesn’t understand,” Chanyeol snaps, pointing at him and surprising Baekhyun. “You weren’t around to see how hard it was when you stopped talking to me with so much as a trace and I didn’t want that to happen again. So if there’s a bit of a chance that it might happen again, I won’t allow it. And not over something as stupid as a fight about my mom.”

 

“It’s not that simple, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun tells him insistently. He looks frustrated and Chanyeol just wants to understand what’s going on in Baekhyun’s head. “Look, it’s not just about your mom… She’s—you’re right about her. She does really want what’s best for you and I get that, really, I do, but…” He shakes his head and bites his lip.

 

“Baek, I’m not sure I follow—”

 

“We’re not right for each other!” Baekhyun bursts. Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “We’re not. That’s been clear right from the start.”

 

“What are you saying?” Chanyeol demands, hurt. All this while he thought they were perfect together, but all Baekhyun really thought was that they were unfit to be a couple?

 

“I need ice cream,” Baekhyun mutters to himself, moving to one of the freezers to grab a tub. “I really need it. I’ll feel better after this.”

 

Chanyeol scoffs. “Is this what that saying means? _Ice cream is duct tape to the heart_?” Baekhyun whips around at this. “That’s just stupid,” he continues. “Do you actually believe that?”

 

“I do,” Baekhyun interjects, placing the ice cream on the counter but not opening it. “I put that saying up so of course I believe it. It’s worked for me. Ice cream has helped heal my heart during a time that I needed it.”

 

Chanyeol’s brows are furrowed. “That’s just silly.” He shakes his head. “Pray tell, when has ice cream duct taped your heart?” Making fun of Baekhyun is the last thing he wants to do but he couldn’t stop himself, not when he’s angry and hurt over Baekhyun wanting to leave him.

 

“When you disappeared on me!” Baekhyun yells, fists clenched on his sides. “I was waiting, on the train station, on July 1st two years ago, so we could go on our London trip and you never came! I knew your mother hated that I was in love with you, but I didn’t think you would agree with them and shun me aside when you found out the truth. We’ve been best friends for almost all of our lives and just because my feelings for you evolved, you’d suddenly thought I wasn’t worthy or good enough.”

 

He pauses for a second to breathe.

 

“But then you came back after two years, and I thought… Obviously I thought wrong. I figured you felt guilty and wanted to make it up to me and I let you and then London happened and you—I will not be played into this only to be left hanging all over again. I won’t! I won’t let you and I won’t let myself.” He swallows back, hoping the tears in his eyes won’t fall and turning away. “I really need ice cream,” he mutters, holding the tub on the counter.

 

Chanyeol doesn’t say anything. To just say that he is stunned is downplaying it. Tears fall on Baekhyun’s cheeks and he hastily wipes it away.

 

“I don’t have time for this,” Baekhyun decides, moving around the counter to leave the kitchen. Chanyeol stops him.

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol slowly starts, trying to find organize his thoughts. “I don’t know what to say, but you have to believe me,” he squeezes Baekhyun’s wrist when he says this, “when I say that I didn’t know about what my mother did. I didn’t know that my mom told you those things, told you to stay away from me.” He takes a deep breath, looking at Baekhyun, even if he won’t look back. “But if I had known, I would have never agreed to it. Baek, you said it yourself, we’ve been best friends for almost our whole existence. I wouldn’t have allowed _feelings_ of all things to change things between us for the worst. If I had known… Baek, I really didn’t know.”

 

“Now you do,” Baekhyun retorts sardonically. “Does it still matter?”

 

“Of course it matters!” Chanyeol tells him, almost pleadingly. “You don’t understand! When you disappeared, I was distraught. I didn’t want to work, didn’t want to do anything except look for you and I would have, had it not for the fact that I did not want to disobey my parents and embarrass them. Baekhyun, I thought you’d left me because I did something stupid and thought that _yeah I did something stupid, I fell in love with you_ and thought you’d found out. But then, I thought, you aren’t the type to write someone out of your life just because of love. Even so, I couldn’t think of another reason why you would stop being my friend.”

 

Baekhyun gapes at him.

 

“Baekhyun, I’ve been in love with you for almost half of our lives!” Chanyeol continues. Might as well go all the way. “I’ve been keeping it in because you’re my best friend and it didn’t matter to me that you didn’t love me back the way I hoped you would because what matters was that you were by my side.”

 

Baekhyun cries and Chanyeol stands there helplessly as Baekhyun buries his face in his hands. Chanyeol can’t help the tears that spring to his own eyes. When he thinks about it, he and Baekhyun have probably been in love with each other for years and it’s only now that they realize it. They could have been together when they were younger, but Chanyeol supposes that this was something that they just had to go through, even though he is still staggered by all of it.

 

Right now, all he hopes is that Baekhyun won’t leave him. Chanyeol really doesn’t know how he’s going to go back to being Park Chanyeol without Byun Baekhyun all over again. He thinks he might breakdown for good.

 

Shortly, Baekhyun lifts his red and puffy face from his hands. They look at each other in silence, the realization that everything that’s been said settling down.

 

“You—” Baekhyun speaks. There’s a small smile on his face and Chanyeol’s heart soars. “You’re so stupid, Park Chanyeol.”

 

“For the record, you are, too,” Chanyeol responds, smiling as well.

 

“Don’t make me come up there,” Baekhyun threatens, taking a step towards him.

 

Chanyeol stoops down and kisses him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s raining again. The raindrops are big, thick and heavy against the windowpane. They slide down the glass, joining other drops and just pools at the edge of the windowsill. It’s quite a pretty and interesting sight, especially since the sun is shining. He can’t say that he has fallen in love with the rain, but he thinks he can live with it more now.

 

A movement in front of him stirs him out of his thoughts and he smiles as a cup of ice cream is placed on the table, followed by a person sitting down across from him.

 

“Ice cream for a rainy day!” Baekhyun announces happily, taking a scoop of his own and putting it into his mouth.

 

Chanyeol grins at him as he eats some of his own. He stills at the taste. It’s the same ice cream that Baekhyun made him taste before, that unnamed one that made Chanyeol think that it tastes like being in love with Baekhyun. The taste is stronger now and he just wants to lean across the table to kiss him.

 

So he does exactly just that.

 

Baekhyun laughs and kicks his feet under the table. “You cheese ball,” he teases, but he’s smiling like the sun.

 

“Have you thought of a name for this yet?” Chanyeol asks, nodding towards the ice cream.

 

Baekhyun scrunches his nose but shakes his head. “But secretly,” he says furtively, leaning across the table, “I think I’m going to call it _Byun Baekhyun loves Park Chanyeol_.”

 

“Baek,” Chanyeol groans, planting his face on his palm. “That’s just gross.”

 

Baekhyun looks offended. “What, are you saying that it’s not true? Are you questioning me, Park Chanyeol?”

 

“Of course I’m not,” Chanyeol immediately backtracks because it really wouldn’t do to get Baekhyun so mad so early in the day. “I’m just saying… maybe _Park Chanyeol loves Byun Baekhyun_ works better?” He winks and Baekhyun fake vomits.

 

“Now, _that’s_ gross,” Baekhyun states knowingly.

 

“Hey.” Chanyeol pouts cutely.

 

“Eat up so you’ll feel better,” Baekhyun says, wiggling his eyebrows, reminding him of the ice cream sayings on top of the counter.

 

Chanyeol shakes his head, still pouting then smiles as he gets an idea. “Kiss me to make me feel better?”

 

“You are a child, Park Chanyeol,” Baekhyun sounds disgusted but he kisses him anyway.

 

Chanyeol looks so much happier after that and goes on to eat his ice cream. “Ice cream may be duct tape for the heart, but nothing beats a Byun Baekhyun to really make things better,” he declares.

 

“Or a Park Chanyeol,” Baekhyun agrees, reaching for Chanyeol’s hand across the table.

 

Chanyeol turns his hand so that their fingers are locked with each other’s.

 

There’s still a lot they have to talk about, a lot of things they have to fix, like Chanyeol’s mother’s issue with Baekhyun being a half-blood and why she did what she did, but, for now, Chanyeol thinks this is enough. For now, all that matters to him is that he and Baekhyun have finally found each other and that they are together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hogwarts is even more amazing than how his parents had described it to him. He looks up at the ceiling, mouth open as he ogles the ceiling reflecting the night sky, as well as the hundreds of candles floating and the ghosts floating about. Hogwarts sounds so much more exciting than what he’d heard about it.

 

Chanyeol turns to Baekhyun, who is also looking up at the ceiling, amazed like he is. When Baekhyun finally meets Chanyeol’s gaze, he grins, his black glasses lifting because of his cheeks.

 

“This is going to be great, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol whispers, dancing in his stance as they wait for the headmaster to finish his welcome speech. “We are going to have so much fun together!”

 

“I hope they put us in the same house, though,” Baekhyun whispers back, eyes intent on the Sorting Hat that’s propped on the stool in front. “It would be so much easier to have fun if we’re in the same house.”

 

Chanyeol frowns because he’s never even thought about the fact that he and Baekhyun can be sorted into different houses.

 

Later on, Baekhyun is bouncing off the stool and is skipping towards the Gryffindor table, having just been sorted into that house. He gives Chanyeol a _thumbs up_ sign when he takes a seat beside another first year who has really chubby cheeks. _Good luck_ , he even mouths to Chanyeol.

 

Chanyeol takes a deep breath when it’s his turn to be sorted. His hands are gripping the edge of the stool, his feet dangling a little ways from the floor. He decides to pull a Harry Potter and think about wanting to be in Gryffindor over and over again.

 

There is no way is Chanyeol going to get sorted into a house that doesn’t have Byun Baekhyun in it. He really likes Baekhyun. He likes how Baekhyun’s so much smaller than he is and likes that his size is perfect for him to be able to protect and take care of him. He likes how he scrunches his nose when he’s confused or when he doesn’t like something, likes how his eyes light up when he’s excited over something. Chanyeol just really likes him.

 

So when he sees that Baekhyun gets sorted into Gryffindor, he forcibly wills the Sorting Hat to know that Chanyeol simply won’t accept getting sorted in a different house. _Gryffindor_ , he thinks really hard, even when Slytherin is what the Sorting Hat is insisting.

 

Chanyeol gets sorted into Gryffindor.

 

It’s just right, Chanyeol thinks, because he needs to be with Baekhyun always.

 


End file.
